maskrosbarn

Swedish

A dandelion blooming where many other flowers cannot even grow.

Etymology

Compound of maskros (“dandelion”) +‎ barn (“child”), attested since 1985. From the dandelion's (Taraxacum) ability to grow in a, for many other flowers, inhospitable environment.

Noun

maskrosbarn c

1. a dandelion kid; a child who despite living in difficult conditions (e.g. addict parents) still manages well
   • 1997, Anne Mørch-Hansen, Anne Birgitte Rønning, Boel Westin, Gabriella Åhmansson, “Barnet i stormens öga”, in Elisabeth Møller Jensen, editor, Dialog i könsdemokratins tecken. Ungdomsromanen i förvandling (Nordisk kvinnolitteraturhistoria; volume 4)‎^[1], page 246:

     Maria Gripes barn är ofta maskrosbarn, barn som borde vara känslomässigt deformerade, men som överlever mot alla odds.

     Maria Gripe's children are often dandelion children, children who should be emotionally deformed, but who survive against all odds.

   • 2020 October 16, Marianne Westerlund, “Sofie växte upp som maskrosbarn: ”Vi var rädda och hungriga””, in Allas‎^[2]:

     Vi sitter i Sofies vardagsrum medan hon berättar om sitt första klara minne av hur det var att växa upp som ett maskrosbarn, ett barn som ingen vuxen brydde sig om.

     We sit in Sofie's living room while she talks about her first clear memory of what it was like to grow up as a dandelion child, a child that no adult cared about.

References

• maskrosbarn in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• maskrosbarn in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• Nyordslistan 1986, Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore