Baldenfreude, Coined by Maureen Dowd: Schadenfreude for Bald Jeff Zucker

Baldenfreude has been coined by columnist Maureen Dowd via her Tuesday New York Times column to apply to Jeff Zucker. Baldenfreude is obviously a specialized term for schadenfreude for bald people, which columnist Maureen Dowd has applied to the current President and CEO of NBC Jeff Zucker, who is bald as this picture at Wikipedia shows. Maureen Dowd has claimed that Hollywood has been "ablaze with baldenfreude" over Jeff Zucker, especially because of the Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno mess over late night television. When I think of such a creative term, I wonder who else it could apply to besides the head of NBC? That is, in taking delight in the misfortunes of bald people.

Maureen Dowd Coins Term of Baldenfreude: Who Else Can It Apply To, Real or Fictional?

The New York Times columnist isn't shy about using colorful language about people she writes about, but will this be a term that really catches on in society slang?

There is one standout choice for me that really applies for this specialized term of schadenfreude. That one and only fictional character of George Costanza of the old Seinfeld television series, a man you couldn't help but take delight in and get laughs at over his constant relationship and career misfortunes. After all, his type of ingratiating character drew such negative karma to himself. As I've thought of his misfortunes, the fact that he was a balding man always stuck out to me.

Maureen Dowd Coins Term of Baldenfreude: Don't Be So Hard On Bald Men

There is one thing you can say about men who one sees balding (women, too), including Jeff Zucker. In one aspect, they are not so vain as to try to hide this fact from the world. Yet how many men with supposedly full heads of hair were/are actually balding, but chose a number of options to hide this fact due to their vanity and fear that women wouldn't want to be "mounted" by them anymore?

On the other hand, do you know someone who is bald and who you can't stand, like a pesky relative or boss? Well, thanks to Maureen Dowd, as you take glee over anything negative happening to them, you can claim baldenfreude rather than schadenfreude as the columnist did for Jeff Zucker.

Sources for this article about Maureen Dowd coining the term of baldenfreude for Jeff Zucker:

Maureen Dowd, The Biggest Loser:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/opinion/13dowd.html, January 12, 2010, New York Times

Jeff Zucker, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Zucker, Wikipedia