Key Takeaways
A sharp joke in a short video
A short horoscope video from Romania (Europe) uses strong slang to mock people who flatter their boss too much.
Slang that crosses languages
The Romanian phrase for this kind of flattery lines up closely with English ideas like “ass-kisser” or “suck-up”.
Astrology as meme culture
The clip sits inside a wider wave of astrology memes that travel fast across apps and borders in the 2020s.
Simple language, big themes
The story shows how one small joke can open a door into slang, work culture, and life online.
Story & Details
A laughing fit over a tiny horoscope
In late 2025, a short video horoscope from Romania (Europe) lands on a phone in the Netherlands (Europe). The clip looks like a normal TV horoscope: a presenter in front of star signs, calm lights, the usual background. The sound, however, is not calm at all.
Viewers write that they laughed so hard that coffee almost jumped out of their cups. They call the video “brutal but true” and praise the astrologer for saying what many people think but rarely say out loud. The target is not love, money, or travel. The target is the classic office ass-kisser.
A very direct Romanian phrase
In the centre of the joke sits a rough Romanian phrase. Its literal image is someone kissing another person’s backside. Romanian–English dictionaries show that the related noun “pupincurist” is translated as “ass kisser” in plain, vulgar English and is used for a person who flatters a powerful figure for gain, not for love or fun.[1][2][3]
The clip plays with this idea. The astrologer links a star sign to people who do this kind of flattery at work. A viewer comments that this behaviour is “very true” and even jokes that people “kissed his ass” even though he was not the boss. The humour lives in this match between harsh words and very ordinary office life.
From Romanian slang to a global office figure
The person who receives the video does not speak Romanian. At first, the clip is only noise, emojis and fast comments. With time, searches reveal the meaning of the key slang. The picture becomes clear: this is a sharp portrait of the worker who always praises the manager, laughs at every weak joke, and never criticises decisions.
English has many words for this person. The neutral term is “sycophant”. The stronger term is “ass-kisser”, which dictionaries define as someone who tries to please another person in order to gain a private advantage.[4] The Romanian slang, the English insult and everyday office life all point to the same familiar figure.
The viewer also knows that Spanish-speaking colleagues use their own local slang for this kind of worker, especially in Spain (Europe). The exact word is not needed here. It is enough to see that different languages still draw the same simple cartoon: a person who bows too low in front of the boss.
A horoscope that sounds like stand-up comedy
The form of the clip is a horoscope, but the spirit is stand-up comedy. That mix fits the media mood of the 2020s. In many countries, astrology has moved from the small print at the back of newspapers to the centre of social feeds. Articles in major magazines describe how memes about star signs flood Instagram and other platforms and turn astrology into a shared joke and a shared language.[5][6][7][8]
In this case, the astrologer does not comfort the audience. The voice is not soft or healing. Instead, the star signs become an excuse to point at behaviours that many people recognise: drama, indecision, pride, and, in this clip, shameless flattery at work. The laughter in the comments shows that viewers feel seen and slightly attacked in a good way.
A second life in another language
Once the receiver understands the main joke, the clip gets a second life. The story is retold in simple English for the friend who sent it. The explanation is short: the reel is a sarcastic horoscope, the astrologer roasts the signs, the strong phrase describes people who flatter their boss too much, and the result is harsh but very funny.
On top of that, there is room for play. A mock horoscope appears in another language, this time for each sun sign. Aries becomes a “general without an army”. Capricorn becomes the long-term professional flatterer who should almost pay tax on the amount of praise given to the boss. Pisces turns into a master of self-deception. These lines are not translations of the Romanian script. They simply show how easy it is to copy the format and use it in new creative ways.
A small Dutch mini-lesson
Language curiosity does not stop with Romanian and English. A small Dutch mini-lesson slips into the discussion and helps tie the ideas back to daily life in the Netherlands (Europe). Short phrases like “drie rode dingen”, “een beetje langzaam is ook oké” and “iemand naar de mond praten” show how Dutch can handle both gentle encouragement and mild criticism.
“Drie rode dingen” can be used for three key tasks in a day. “Een beetje langzaam is ook oké” suggests that moving slowly can still be good and useful. “Iemand naar de mond praten” describes telling another person exactly what they want to hear. The last phrase sits close to the idea of the office ass-kisser, but in much calmer words. Together, these small examples show that even within one country, language offers both soft and sharp ways to talk about the same behaviour.
Astrology memes in a specific moment
By December 2025, this kind of short, sharp horoscope clip is part of a wider pattern. Major newspapers and cultural magazines describe how astrology has become a meme language online and how star signs now appear in jokes about work, love, or even streaming habits.[5][6][7][8] Young people use this language to talk about feelings and identity, but also just to laugh at themselves and each other.
The Romanian reel fits that pattern. It talks about work culture, power and politeness, but does it with light images of stars and symbols. In a few seconds, it connects a local slang phrase, a global office figure and a shared sense that some truths are easier to hear when they come in the form of a joke.
Conclusions
A joke that travels well
A small horoscope meme from Romania (Europe) turns out to be much more than a throwaway joke. It shows how a single sharp phrase can travel across apps, borders and languages and still make sense to people in very different places. Workplaces in Romania (Europe), the Netherlands (Europe), Spain (Europe) or the United States (North America) all know the colleague who flatters the boss too much.
Simple words, shared experience
The story also shows how simple words can carry complex ideas. A rough slang term, a soft Dutch phrase and a plain English insult all point to the same everyday truth. Astrology, in this case, is only the stage. The real subject is how people behave around power and how humour helps everyone speak about that behaviour without turning the mood too heavy.
Selected References
[1] Dict.cc. Romanian–English dictionary entry for “pupincurist”, translated as “ass kisser”.
https://m.dict.cc/romanian-english/pupincurist.html
[2] Glosbe. English–Romanian dictionary entry linking “ass-kisser” to “pupincurist”.
https://glosbe.com/en/ro/ass%20kisser
[3] Reverso Context. Romanian–English examples showing “pupincurism” and related forms used in the sense of “ass kissing”.
https://context.reverso.net/translation/romanian-english/pupincurism
[4] Vocabulary.com. Definition of “ass-kisser” as a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ass-kisser
[5] Julie Beck. “The New Age of Astrology.” The Atlantic, 16 January 2018. Discussion of astrology’s boom on social media and the rise of astrology memes.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/01/the-new-age-of-astrology/550034/
[6] Kaitlyn Tiffany. “The Internet Changed Astrology. Then Came the Memes.” Wired, 8 May 2019. Exploration of astrology as an online meme culture.
https://www.wired.com/story/astrology-and-the-internet/
[7] Times of India. “The Rise of Astrology on Social Media: Why Gen Z is Turning to the Stars.” 22 October 2024. Overview of astrology’s popularity among younger users on social platforms.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/astrology/others/the-rise-of-astrology-on-social-media-why-gen-z-is-turning-to-the-stars/articleshow/114461601.cms
[8] BBC Ideas. “Are we right to dismiss astrology?” Video essay on belief, scepticism and astrology in modern life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPnsRI-4d80
Appendix
Ass-kisser
A strong informal English term for a person who flatters someone in power in order to gain a private benefit, often used in workplace stories and jokes.
Astrology meme
A short, shareable piece of online content that uses star signs, horoscopes or planetary language to make a joke or comment about everyday life.
Dutch mini-lesson
A short group of Dutch phrases, such as “drie rode dingen”, “een beetje langzaam is ook oké” and “iemand naar de mond praten”, used to show how Dutch describes focus, slowness and polite flattery.
Horoscope video
A moving image clip in which a presenter or voice describes what each star sign can expect, often repackaged today as quick, funny posts on social platforms.
Meme reel
A very short video, usually watched on a phone, that mixes sound, images, text and jokes in a fast, loop-friendly format designed for sharing.
Romanian slang
Informal Romanian words and phrases, including rough expressions for flattery and office politics, that carry strong emotional colour and often do not translate word for word into other languages.
Sycophant
A more formal English word for a person who praises someone in authority in an exaggerated way, usually because they want a reward or protection.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 