Skip to main content

Kafkaesque 

Comes from the author Franz Kafka, and refers to the style with which he wrote his books (which in his dying wish asked for to be burned).

Basically it describes a nightmarish situation which most people can somehow relate to, although strongly surreal. With an ethereal, "evil", omnipotent power floating just beyond the senses.
You go to the city to see the law. Upon arrival outside the building, there is a guard who says "You may not pass without permission", you notice that the door is open, but it closed enough for you to not see anything (the law).

You point out that you can easily go into the building, and the guard agrees. Rather than be disagreeable, however, you decide to wait until you have permission.

You wait for many years, and when you're an old, shriveled wreck, you get yourself to ask:

"During all the years I've waited here, no-one else has tried to pass in to see the law, why is this?",
and the guard answers:

"It is true that no-one else has passed here, that is because this door was always meant solely for you, but now, it is closed forever".

He then procceeds to close the door and calmly walk away.

This is in fact, one of his short stories, and is very typical to his style, i.e. kafkaesque.
Kafkaesque by LinuX February 12, 2006

Kafkaesque 

From the Czech/German author of the early 1900’s, the word describes a situation where the individual is sane but struggles against an illogical and insane bureaucracy or authority. See his unfinished novel ‘The Castle’. Essentially all of us now that Brexit has been setting in for the last 2 years.
Theresa May’s government grows more kafkaesque by the day. I applied for British citizenship and all I got was a page full of wingdings

The government has become kafkaesque because some old Etonians couldn’t stop wanking over a long defunct empire even though colonialism is a fundamentally evil idea. As government slowly goes inane most civil departments are rendered impotent
Kafkaesque by The Outsider April 22, 2019

Kafkaesque 

Describing something that is horribly complicated for no reason, usually in reference to bureaucracy. Named after the early 20th century writer Franz Kafka, best known for "The Trial" and "Metamorphosis".
Trying to find a good band on MySpace is kafkaesque.
Kafkaesque by Parsefone April 9, 2006

Kafkaesque 

adjective

Something people say to sound really smart.
This arugula salad is quite kafkaesque, don't you think?

Kafkaesque 

Named after the author Franz Kafka, typically used to describe anything that makes no sense, has no colours and has no points of reference.
Waking up and being a human sized insect but being able to fit under a regular door and subsequently kicked by your father. THAT'S Kafkaesque.

"Dude, the school is so... Kafkaesque!"
Kafkaesque by Jonathan Singh August 3, 2004

Kafkaesque metawhorephosis 

When you feel like a fucking praying mantis or grey alien because you transformed into jerking champion after seeing too much existential crisis to cope you transform into a whore you need dat cat eraday or you cannot function to compensate.
After seeing too many war stories I had a kafkaesque metawhorephosis that made me jork it eraday.
More from Urban Dictionary
The striver is an interesting phenomenon that is seen across college campuses. In essence, the striver is an over-achiever who comes from a working or middle class family. He may be an immigrant. He may have been a slacker in HS who was "born again" into an academic wunderkind. Or he may just be an over-achiever who is keeping at it.

The striver is willing to sacrifice his social life at the expense of Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. The striver is the guy who stays at the library long after you are gone. The striver is the guy who takes 30 credits/semester and considers anything below an A/4.0 failure. The striver doesn't work on campus, he is too busy finding ways to pad his resume instead of working retail or workstudy. The striver lets his grades pay his education by applying to ten scholarships a year.

The striver is a future Soros/Fullbright/Rhodes/Gates/Marshall/etc. fellow. The striver lives to study. For the striver, their fun comes from the rewards they expect to receive in return for their diligence. Be it Law School, B-School, academia, or politics. The striver seeks to find the American Dream through academic success.
Anthony was a striver. He transfered from a TTT to an IVY and graduated in 2 years. He studied his ass off and went to Penn Law. He got a Biglaw offer. But lost it all because of an unmoderated mesasgeboard.

Successful strivers:
- Barack Obama
- Harold Koh
Striver by URM Striver January 3, 2009
Word of the Day on August 15, 2026

SkyPesos 

Delta SkyMiles, also known as SkyPesos, is the frequent flyer program of Delta Airlines. It has a very poor value and hard to use.
- I'm trying to book an award flight to Paris, but I only have 70,000 SkyPesos
- Just forget about it, you don't have enough SkyPesos to fly anywhere.
SkyPesos by 404_name_not_found December 6, 2018
Word of the Day on August 14, 2026

Quiche Peanemis

Quirky niche peak cinema analysis
It describes the analysis of a media piece which is quirky and niche, yet peak.
Give me the quiche peanemis on the movie I missed.
Quiche Peanemis by Mushroom2241 June 17, 2026
Word of the Day on August 13, 2026

Hate Draft

1. Select a player (real or fantasy) during a sports draft to spite or anger one or more of your opponents because they had intended to select him/her.

2. Select a player (real or fantasy) during a sport draft to put one or more of your opponents at a strategic disadvantage.
1. Billy hate drafted Chad OchoCinco because he knew Sam had wanted him since he is from Cincinnati. Billy already had plenty of players to fill that position but wanted to make sure Sam didn't get him.

2. Billy hate drafted Peyton Manning because he was the only good quarterback left and he knew Sam had been planning on drafting him.
Hate Draft by pffler September 1, 2009
Word of the Day on August 12, 2026
"I can pull James Bond stunts in a jalopy."
jalopy by watson November 20, 2002
Word of the Day on August 11, 2026

Utility beer 

Utility beer is the beer you keep around for the day-to-day moments when beer is a necessity to assist in pedestrian activities (golf, plumbing, yardwork, babysitting, staff meetings, Zoom calls). For the beer snob it is the beer you save for neighbors when they drop in at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday. It is differentiated from the actual high-end beer you save for special events, holidays, and special tastings.
Person 1: Dave, did you bring along those hazy craft IPA's so we could drink while cleaning Lyle's pool?
Person 2: Nope. I just have a bunch of utility beer that Steve dumped on me. Good enough for this. It is only 10:30 a.m.
Utility beer by lakeshore February 1, 2022
Word of the Day on August 10, 2026
Next