Noun. Boredom. Variation of the adjective fad (boring), which originates from the French fade (bland, tasteless, insipid) – making the mock gallic suffix oddly fitting.
In Vienna, as everywhere else, life can be seen as a constant struggle against the existential drudgery of Fadesse, with the city particularly well equipped with remedies like coffeehouses, concert halls, Heurigen, theaters, cinemas and other diversions – as immortalized in Helmut Qualtinger and Gerhard Bronner’s classic song “Weil mir so fad is” (“Because I’m so bored”), where the former unsuccessfully tries to battle ennui, lamenting that it’s “not his fault he has so much time on his hands.”
Indeed, any victory over the specter of boredom can only ever bring temporary respite, it being emblematic of the human condition. So be charitable to fellow sufferers, as it is surely a noble cause. After all, fadesse oblige!
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