“Weird” is suddenly the “It word,” thanks to Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who used it to describe Donald Trump, J. D. Vance, and members of the MAGA movement. It quickly caught on and became the No. 1 talking point for Democrats. There’s only one problem: “Weird,” for lack of a better description, is a weird word. It means different things to different people, and one man’s weird is another man’s normal. Nonetheless, even in these historically divided times, there are some things we can all agree upon as being simply … weird.
Weird is how it feels the first time you spend Christmas in hot, sunny Florida after a lifetime of living in the Northeast.
Weird is the sudden vibe in the room when watching a movie with your teenage daughter and a sex scene comes on.
Weird is code for “no”—as in the sentence “He has a weird sense of humor.”
Weird is that quiet kid with glasses who always sat in the back of the class in high school and who’s spent the last 10 years becoming a billionaire … or secretly writing his manifesto in crayon.
Weird is how you feel the first time you wear the shirt of your uncle who recently died.
Weird is the odd feeling in your throat the first few times you say the phrase “my husband” or “my wife.”
Weird is often the last thing a person remembers feeling before passing out and then waking up hours later in the hospital recovery room.
Weird is Al Yankovic’s brand.
Weird is suddenly realizing the doctor examining you used to be your paperboy, or reading on Facebook that an old one-night stand from college became a priest or a nun.
Weird is midway between offbeat and creepy. Weird is eccentricity minus wealth.
John Ficarra is a former editor of Mad magazine
