Words by

The Reykjavík Grapevine and Andie Sophia Fontaine

Photo by

Hrefna Björg Gylfadóttir

The word of the week is frek(ur). This is a very useful word when describing everyday behavior. Frekur describes people who act with a combination of pushiness, stubbornness and obnoxiousness (see above example). Often this is used to describe bosses, teachers, or fellow motorists.

In a sentence: “Bílaumferð á Íslandi er best lýst sem ‘survival of the frekast’.” (“Car traffic in Iceland is best described as ‘survival of the frekast’”— an actual quote from an Icelander.)