An idiom for deriving pleasure from another's suffering
I believe it is what the Germans call "Schadenfreude". English itself has no such equivalent word. (Although it has been adopted as a loanword.)
Does an idiom exist that describes it?
I remember a Magic The Gathering card which had "Schadenfreude" in German and "Sadistic Glee" in English.
The Wikipedia page includes the English equivalents of Schadenfreude.
- Epicaricacy
- Roman holiday
- Morose delectation
- Gloating
- lulz
Little-used English words synonymous with schadenfreude have been derived from the Greek word epichairekakia (ἐπιχαιρεκακία). Nathan Bailey's 18th-century Universal Etymological English Dictionary, for example, contains an entry for epicharikaky that gives its etymology as a compound of ἐπί epi (upon), χαρά chara (joy), and κακόν kakon (evil). A popular modern collection of rare words, however, gives its spelling as "epicaricacy".
An English expression with a similar meaning is 'Roman holiday', a metaphor taken from the poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" by George Gordon, Lord Byron, where a gladiator in Ancient Rome expects to be "butcher'd to make a Roman holiday" while the audience would take pleasure from watching his suffering. The term suggests debauchery and disorder in addition to sadistic enjoyment.
Another phrase with a meaning similar to Schadenfreude is "morose delectation" ("delectatio morosa" in Latin), meaning "the habit of dwelling with enjoyment on evil thoughts". The medieval church taught morose delectation as a sin. French writer Pierre Klossowski maintained that the appeal of sadism is morose delectation.
An English word of similar meaning is "gloating", where "gloat" is defined as "to observe or think about something with triumphant and often malicious satisfaction, gratification, or delight" (gloat over an enemy's misfortune).
The internet slang term "lulz" (A variation of LOL) has acquired the connotation of fun or amusement at another person's expense, especially in regard to trolling behavior.
Though "Sadistic" carries a potential sexual inference (that one would actually derive sexual pleasure from another's suffering), this word is used frequently without implying the sexual element of it. It derives from The Marquis de Sade who was a real go-getter.
Of someone who delights in the pain of others; Of behaviour which gives pleasure in the pain of others