Swedish word of the day: nakenfis

If you take off all your clothes in Sweden, someone may call you a nakenfis. But why?
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A nakenfis literally means 'naked fart' – a person who is totally nude.
It's a loving, slightly tongue-in-cheek, expression, which usually refers to a child.
Picture a three-year-old running around the room like an indoor mini-tornado, refusing to put their pyjamas on after their evening bath, and you might hear the parent exclaim an exasperated hörrödu din nakenfis, nu är det läggdags (hey you, naked fart, it's bedtime).
But what's it got to do with flatulence?
Don't miss any of The Local's Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button
Not much, in fact, nor is it related to the English expression 'old fart', which is often used to describe an annoying elderly person with old-fashioned views.
Instead, it comes from the word askefis, which is hardly ever heard in modern Swedish.
It's a word that was used to refer to the youngest child in a group of siblings, the person whose job it was to blow on the coal or embers (aska means ashes) to stoke the fire. This task was often assigned to them because they were too small for more demanding household chores.
While the verb fisa these days is exclusively associated with farting, it is related to the English fizzle, and probably originally comes from spirare in Latin, to breathe or blow.
Another word for fart in Swedish is prutt. Think of a fis as the quiet, smelly variant and a prutt as the noisy one. Excellent onomatopoeia.
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Example sentences:
Jag vill bada nakenfis i sjön
I want to swim naked in the lake
Får man vara nakenfis i bastun? Ibland, här är reglerna
Are you allowed to be naked in the sauna? Sometimes, here are the rules
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local's Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local's journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.

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