Liminal

[lim-uh-nl]

Phonetic (Standard) IPA (Maybe it’s not even a beer)

Noun/Adjective 

That weird in-between state where nothing is fully cooked yet, like waiting for your pizza to come out of the oven while the popcorn’s already popped and everyone’s just… standing there vibing awkwardly, until someone realizes that the oven wasn’t even turned on.

EXPLANATION

Liminal describes spaces, moments, or feelings that exist on the threshold — not here, not there. Think mall food courts at closing time, airport hallways at 2 a.m., or that pause in a movie trailer where the bass drops and you know chaos is coming. It’s the emotional equivalent of mental buffering… but cinematic.

Origin of Word

Late 19th century (circa 1895), from Latin limen, meaning “threshold.” Basically, ancient Romans named that feeling we now mostly experience while doom-scrolling, holding a greasy pizza box, wondering if we should start a new season of Breaking Bad at 2am or go to bed.

Example

Sitting on the couch at midnight, surrounded by cold pizza and half-eaten popcorn, I realized I was in a deeply liminal space — too tired to function, too awake to stop, basically the star of my own A24 film.

How to use

Use liminal when describing moments that feel eerie, transitional, or oddly profound — especially when nothing is happening but it feels like something should be. Bonus points if snacks are involved and pop culture music starts playing in your head for no reason.