Book-of-the-week

From That's Amore! The Language of Love for Lovers of Language:

Pummel (German)
[PUM-uhl]
Pummel literally translates as 'chubby one,' and conveys the German belief that chubby people are more gemutlich. Gemutlich is often translated as 'cosy,' 'snug,' or 'comfortable.' If someone calls you Pummel, they feel comfortable, relaxed, easy, and at home with you.

mne tak sladok tvoy plen (Russian)
[mne tahk SLAH-duhk tvoy PLEN]
This poetic declaration literally translates as 'your prison is so sweet,' and is used to express both the joy felt in a loved one's company and the sense that being in love is not entirely voluntary.

In the introduction to the chapter on "pain and rejection," I ran across a word I once knew and loved but had forgotten: limerence. Erin McKean says, "Limerence, the feeling of uncontrollable infatuation with another person, thrives on a regular alternation of hope and despair; the idea being that one is never sure of where one stands with the object of one's affection." Handy word, limerence.