Sometimes words are invented just because people wish there were such words—and (I suppose) wish that what they name actually existed.
This appears to be the case when it comes to these new words ‘hopium’ and ‘copium.’
Both words are to be found in the Colins Dictionary—one of the authoritative dictionaries of the English-speaking world—so these words must have appeared in print often enough to catch the eye of the lexicographers.
The Collins people say that ‘hopium’ means, ‘a substance said to have been ingested by those who maintain an unrealistically optimistic outlook.’
The dictionary says that ‘hopium’ is a humorous blend of ‘hope’ and ‘opium.’
There was a newspaper column with the headline: ‘Hopium helps you forget several unpleasant facts.’
The column by John Kass and appeared in the Chicago Tribune of July 30, 2008.
I remember being told once that optimists have an unrealistic view of the world but tend to live happier lives; while pessimists have a much more realistic view of the world but tend, on the whole, to be more miserable.
Such seems to support the fanciful notion that the optimists in this life are the people who take a little white ‘hopium’ tablet every day with their morning coffee.
Then there’s the related word ‘copium.’
This one is in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as well as the Collins and is a similar word with a related meaning.
‘Copium’ we are told, means, ‘a substance said to have been ingested by those who remain unduly optimistic in the face of defeat or disappointment.’
In other words, they are coping far too well.
These are the people whose coping mechanism is firing on all cylinders.
'Coping mechanism', by the way, is a complex noun that is in the great Oxford English Dictionary recorded from as long ago as 1941.
Mind you, ‘coping mechanism’ is a bit of psychobabble, a bit therapy flatulence of dubious value.
But this imaginary preparation ‘copium’ if it was available at the local chemist (and listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) would be genuinely useful.
Ah, well, we can hope (or, at least, those of us taking the ‘hopium’ can!)
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