skrammel

Skrammel is a Danish and Norwegian noun meaning junk, bric-a-brac, or miscellaneous items that are considered of little value. It can refer to physical objects gathered in a home, attic, shed, or workshop, such as old tools, knick-knacks, broken appliances, or scrap materials. The term can also describe clutter in a space rather than a single item. In everyday speech, skrammel can carry a light, affectionate nuance when talking about nostalgic or useful-but-not-practical things; in other contexts it may simply mean trash or litter.

Etymology and regional use are not entirely clear. The word is generally regarded as part of the Germanic linguistic sphere and is thought to be related to notions of roughness, noise, or scrap materials. In Danish and Norwegian, skrammel is used similarly, though nuances and frequency of use can vary by region and speaker. It often appears in colloquial expression and in prose or media to evoke clutter, an informal salvage trove, or a pile of odds and ends.

Related terms differ by language. In Danish, skrammel sits alongside terms like skrot (scrap) and råvarer in descriptions of discarded or salvageable items, while in Norwegian it shares the sense of miscellaneous, unwanted objects found in everyday settings. The concept is widely understood in both languages as a collective or generic label for untidy or depreciated belongings.

See also: junk, bric-a-brac, clutter, skrot.