‘Hurkle-durkle-ing’ is the hilarious-sounding TikTok trend you should absolutely be doing
Trends go viral on TikTok seemingly at random, and sometimes it feels like there’s no rhyme or reason to why something might hit. But we’re fully on board with the latest trend, aptly titled ‘hurkle durkle,’ and when you hear about it, you’ll be on board with it, too. Trust us.
The hurkle-durkle has been making the rounds lately, stemming from a recent clip shared by actor Kira Kosarin in which she explains what it is and why it’s so great. Dubbing it her “word of the day,” Kosarin tells the camera: “Just thought you guys should know that the Scottish have a word for laying around in bed after it’s time to get up and it’s called hurkle-durkle-ing. I do be hurkle-ing and I do be durkle-ing and once I’ve hurkled my last durkle in a given morning, I will get up. But I’m a big fan of a hurkle-durkle, so you should be too.”
Hurkle-durkle-ing might sound like bed rotting but with an even sillier name, but Kosarin is right: the term does have Scottish origins, as it seems to have been first used around the 19th century in the country. The official definition is “to lie in bed or lounge about when one should be up and about,” which is something that any of us could get behind, especially during the dreary winter days we’re currently swaddled in.
In the Scots etymology, hurkle itself means to “sit huddled in a crouched position either for warmth or secrecy, to draw oneself together like a crouching animal,” and durkle just feels like the perfect descriptor for staying wrapped in a cozy cocoon in one’s bed. Though it seems the word has fallen out of use, with plenty of Scots in the comments section noting that they’ve never heard of it. Still, we think it is high time to bring it back, since we all deserve a nice antidote to rushing out of bed in the morning to start the day.
Of course, parents everywhere are likely chuckling, because how feasible is it to stay cozied up under the covers when you’ve got toddlers running around or tweens that need to be driven to soccer practice before the sun comes up?
Still, if you ever do get the rare and fleeting luxury of being able to spend some extra time in bed before tackling an onslaught of responsibilities, please do. Resting your brain and body is neither lazy nor unproductive. In fact, it’s so essential. And if it involves snuggling with your kids, partner, or pets and not thinking about your to-do list or scrolling through social media (we know, the irony!), even better. You deserve a good hurkle-durkle as often as you can get it.
