The Morbs
Passing thoughts on lost language, found language, and communicating across borders, cultures, and time.
Ever felt a bit melencholy for no real reason? Back in Victorian England, there was a phrase for that. You'd simply got the morbs.
It referred to a passing melancholy. Not grief, not despair, just that low-level emotional fog that rolls in, settles for a while, and eventually drifts off again without explanation. I find that oddly comforting. It suggests that even in the nineteenth century, people were waking up feeling a bit off and thinking, well, that’s inconvenient.
There’s something reassuring about the existence of a phrase like that. In today's world we seem to default to very small set of boxes to describe things, and sometimes that just doesn't quite fits the ordinary experience of simply feeling a bit grey.
I've been thinking a lot about language lately.
About a year ago I started learning Japanese. Partly because I was planning a visit, but partly because I wanted to prove to myself that I could. When you start learning a new language, you learn how to function first. How to ask, thank, apologise, and generally avoid causing chaos in public. The latter has been more helpful than I ever thought it would be.
What you don’t learn straight away, though, are the hidden layers. The cultural shorthand. The old phrases that carry history inside them. The kind of expressions that only make sense once you understand the society that shaped them.
And yet, even without all that depth, communication still works. You learn enough to be understood, even while knowing there are entire corners of meaning you’ll never fully reach. It’s humbling, especially for those of us who grew up speaking English and somehow mistook that for an achievement rather than a coincidence.
Got Morb?
I think this is why I like the phrase got the morbs so much. It feels like a reminder that language isn’t just about accuracy. It’s about comfort. It's about culture. It's about giving something a name when no other name quite fits.
And, if nothing else, it’s a useful phrase to keep in your back pocket for days when everything feels slightly off and you’d rather not make a big deal of it. Some days don’t require diagnosis or drama.
Some days, you’ve simply got the morbs.
