Kummerspeck
December 20, 2025
I am sure we have all had our fair share of painful breakups. More often than not, the grief is so strong that it moves from the soul into the body and becomes apparent in the form of drastic weight changes.
I am sure we have all had our fair share of painful breakups. More often than not, the grief is so strong that it moves from the soul into the body and becomes apparent in the form of drastic weight changes.
Imagine you have a very promising date—but instead of being full of anticipation, you feel strangely stressed, almost paralyzed. That’s the kind of anxiety that Germans call “Muffensausen”
Nearly 12 million Germans belong to a fitness club. Many of them demonstrate an iron German discipline, never leaving the gym until they have completed their third set of selfies.
The term is rooted in agricultural life, where animals from the same stable carry a distinctive odor. Over time, this concept took on a figurative meaning.
A German proverb says: “Not complaining is enough praise.” We are truly not the masters of lavishing compliments. However, the concept of using feigned compliments as a weapon to win someone’s favor isn’t beyond a German’s reach.
This blog is a love letter to the curiosities of the German language that give it its poetic and, at times, oddly humorous qualities.
The “German Is Weird” book is now available: order here!
