What the FAQ: What does Epicaricacy, the word used by Shashi Tharoor after India humbled Australia, mean?

The Indian team led by Ajinkya Rahane, braved all odds to defeat a full-strength Australian team by three wickets at the Gabba to win the four-Test series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Tuesday in Brisbane. It was a historic win as Australia was previously unbeaten at the Gabbatoir since 1988. The win was totally unexpected while former Australian cricketers had all predicted that it was a hard victory and India would lose. Soon after, netizens began sharing old tweets, images of Australian cricketers all predicting India's loss. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor jumped on the bandwagon too. He shared a snapshot of the comments made by former cricketers Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh, among others and trolled them in his own way — by posting a word of the day!

Here we explain what the word means, where it can be used in a sentence and more.

Why did Shashi Tharoor post a word to troll Australia after India's historic win?
Ans: Author and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor trolled Australia in his own trademark style — by posting a word of the day on January 19 after the Indian team's historic win at the Gabba. Not many of us will know the meaning of the word Epicaricacy. And netizens couldn't be happier as they discovered the meaning of the word, which was intended as a troll towards the former Australian cricketers who had predicted India wouldn't win. "I am not the gloating kind," clarified Tharoor, "but there's a special pleasure in reading these comments today..." on his tweet. Along with his tweet, Tharoor shared a graphic of former Australian cricketers who had all predicted trouble for India ahead of the fourth Test at Brisbane's Gabba — where Australia had been undefeated since 1988.

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What does Epicaricacy mean?
Ans: According to Merriam Webster, Epicaricacy (noun) means deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others. It can be used in a sentence such as: 'When the boastful braggart was defenestrated by his club, my epicaricacy knew no bounds'. Epicaricacy is often said to be the English for the German word 'Schadenfreude'.

How viral was Tharoor's tweet?
Ans: The tweet has garnered around 2,500 retweets and over 15,000 likes so far. Tharoor followed it up with another dig after his word of the day. This time it was aimed at former Australian skipper Michael Clarke who had earlier said that India could celebrate for a year if they beat Australia without Virat Kohli. Businessman Anand Mahindra also shared the graphic tweeted by the Congress MP to celebrate India's win and take a dig at the people who predicted otherwise.