Words by

Andie Sophia Fontaine

The word of the issue this issue is glatað. This is a word you will hear quite often in the everyday speech of Icelanders. While it has the literal meaning of “lost” (e.g. “glatað vegabréf,” a lost passport), it is also used colloquially to mean disappointing, upsetting, or just plain lame. As complaining is pretty much the national pastime in Iceland, getting to know glatað will take you a long way in everyday conversation.

Used in a sentence: “Framboð Davíðs Oddssonar var glatað en viðbrögðin við því voru enn glataðri.” (Davíð Oddson’s [presidential] campaign was disappointing, but the reaction to it was even more disappointing.)