smudging
n.— «Wendy Sarasohn, a broker with the Corcoran Group who has guided buyers away from apartments she felt had bad vibes and who has arranged smudgings (an American Indian practice during which smoke is used to cleanse a place of negative energy), said a broker should disclose if “something unharmonious” has taken place.» —“Some Buyers Regret Not Asking: Anyone Die Here?” by Stephanie Rosenbloom New York Times Apr. 30, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he...
In English, we may express regret colloquially with the rhyming phrase Shoulda, woulda, coulda! German speakers also use a rhyming phrase to suggest the same idea: Hätte, hätte, Fahrradkette!, which translates literally as “If only, if only, bicycle...