Pretty, pretty good: How Larry David changed the English language

You’re looking for a cab on a busy street, when a man appears, also on the lookout. Except he’s a block nearer to oncoming traffic. Unfair! Not to say rude. But what’s the word for such an offence?

Larry David has the answer, as he does for most social breaches, be it the pop-in (the unannounced visit), the double-dip (using a bitten cracker to scoop a dollop) or the ribbon bully (a charity mugger – or chugger – who pre-pins a fund-raising ribbon to your chest.)

The last three coinages hail from Seinfeld, David’s co-creation with the sitcom’s eponym, while that taxi outrage is called upstreaming, as we learnt from Curb Your Enthusiasm, his second show, recently wrapping after 120 episodes. Add that to the Seinfeld tally, and you have exactly 300 shows – or 150 hours of social analysis.

Larry David in the final episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, No Lesson Learned.Credit: HBO

As Emmys go, David has been nominated 31 times. His hit rate? Two wins, both in the early ’90s. But truly, it’s the dictionary set to enshrine the writer’s legacy, capturing labels we never knew we needed. Take Elaine’s appraisal of a potential sexual partner. While he may be handsome, is the guy spongeworthy? After a brisk swim, George Costanza’s embarrassment relates to the downsize-shame of shrinkage. (“I was in the pool!” ) Meanwhile, Kramer learns about “kavorka”, allegedly a Latvian Orthodox term for animal attraction, perhaps a secret Jerry might keep in the vault.

The Curb lexicon is just as generous. Beware the “reminder beep” when you sound the horn, informing the front car that the light is green. Or heed your “appetiser allotment” when the share plates arrive. And never succumb to the “chat and cut” – the queue-equivalent of upstreaming – where you sidle into a line by conversing with a person closer to the counter.

Obviously, other writers were part of both projects. In the Seinfeld stable, Dan O’Keefe gave us Festivus, a non-commercial alternative to Christmas. Just as Spike Feresten bestowed “soup Nazi” into the vernacular. And all hail Tom Gammill and Max Pross, whose male-bra storyline – alias The Bro – presented Frank Costanza’s sublime Dadsplaining, deciphering the sizes for George: “They have different cups. You have the A, the B, the C, the D – that’s the biggest.”

Michael Richards (left) as Kramer in Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi episode.

Talking is a focus of both series. Be that the close talker (an inch from your face), the high talker (with dog-defying pitch), the soft talker (who hides details under their breath), or even medium talk, a step above small talk. As for truth-talking, that’s when Larry David is hired by couples as the “social assassin” – a third party trained in saying the unsayable.

Because David’s knack, more than observation, is to coin a word for each human folly he sees. Consider foist, a verb lying dormant in the dictionary until Curb (Season 9). Here, Larry dumps an inept assistant by gushing about her skills to Susie, who’s duped into head-hunting her. A classic foist, transferring damaged goods by deceit.

Can you celebrate your birthday two weeks later? No, says the Birthday Cutoff. Can you apologise two weeks later? No, says the Sorry Window. Can you start an old relationship afresh? Yes, says the Reset Button. All good reasons to reset your viewing in the name of social linguistics since Larry David’s legacy is pretty, pretty, pretty good. The list is long, from Seinfeld to Curb, from “make-up sex” to “bizarro George”, from “pants tent” to “puffy shirt”, yada, yada, yada …

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