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You Should Add This Unusual Word To Your Vocab
Many people call me “sardonic”.
But what does it mean?
Sadly, even half of the people using the word “sardonic” don't even know what it is.
It’s like sarcasm but mixed with dark humor. Deadpan humor, but with a cracked smile instead of being expressionless.
It’s in that category of dry humor, but it is particularly thorny, mocking, and scornful.
Turns out the word has a pretty interesting history!
The Sardinian Smile
The story of sardonic humor starts on the island of Sardinia off the coast of Italy.
There is a plant that was believed to grow there called “hemlock water dropwort”, a cousin of the hemlock plant that was the main ingredient in the poison Socrates drank when he was condemned to unalive himself.
It’s highly poisonous, and it makes people's muscles contract until they meet their death. Because of the muscle contractions, it can often leave the victim with a creepy…
