Haitian happiness
n.— «So since we’ve gotten here…well since we’ve got back from the mountian village we’ve had some problems with people being sick. Diarrhea the most common and experienced by everyone! I think they call it Haitian Happiness, cause most people get it when they first come here for a while. Which is NOT a fun thing let me tell you! Some have had it for up to 2 and a half weeks now. It isn’t a very pleasent thing when your insides are churning and feel like they are gonna come out either end—meaning mouth and butt—at the same time!» —“Rice and Diarrhea” by Brianne Straughan Miss B. Straughan May 10, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Language is always evolving, and that’s also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for “telephone” was one fist below your mouth and the other at your ear, as if you’re holding an old-fashioned candlestick...
Over the centuries, the meaning of happiness has traveled a long way. Today we speak of the pursuit of happiness, but it used to be that the word happiness suggested something that occurs only by chance–something that simply… happens. Plus, the joys...