Früheankunftfreude

A German word without a literal equivalent in English, referring to the pleasure, triumph and sense of spiritual cleansing associated with being first person to participate in an activity one does not expect — in this world — to benefit from or enjoy.

Derives from Calvinist dogma.

Originally it encapsulated a penitent’s beatific sensation of being first into the cold bath, but in the modern vernacular it has stretched to the secular: the sensation of righteousness that comes from rising at dawn to secure a sun-lounger in a nasty condominium in the Algarve, and the sacrificial excitement of being first to dial into a conference call, and having to endure hold music as an entrée to the greater horror of participating in the call itself.

Contrast with späteankunftschande

See also

• Späteankunftschande
• Conference call