Backpfeifengesicht
August 9, 2021
Backpfeifengesicht is a perfect example of creative insults that the German language has on offer. It is highly effective, yet innocent enough to not have you bleeped out.
The “German is weird” book is now available:
order here
Backpfeifengesicht is a perfect example of creative insults that the German language has on offer. It is highly effective, yet innocent enough to not have you bleeped out.
Everyone knows that one guy you wouldn’t buy a used car from. I don’t mean like a convicted criminal. More that Moe Szyslak type of person. That’s what Germans like to call a “Schlitzohr”.
it’s mainly the long-time Tinder power users among my friends and colleagues who, at some point in their mid 30s, look a bit dumbfounded.
You know that situation when the bully gets his butt kicked for once? Or when the glamour boy arrives at school with a giant ugly zit on his nose? This is the point where Schadenfreude kicks in.
It is a widely known fact that the German language gives you the opportunity to stack words on top of each other to create genuine lexical monstrosities.
According to studies, the German manhood is rather average when measured in size. However, what Germany lacks in magnitude, it compensates in the sheer amount of words to describe “it”.
Well, you won’t disagree that this is another one of these words that makes perfect sense if you think about it. It simply describes the fleshy tissue surrounding your teeth. Ergo: tooth flesh.
Don’t be fooled by dictionaries thattell you that Gemütlichkeit is merely a translation of the English word “coziness”. There is much more to the feeling of Gemütlichkeit than sitting on a cozy sofa in your comfy clothes.
We all agree that German grammar was made by the devil himself. When it comes to spelling however, my mother’s tongue is far less diabolic. Except for some special cases…
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!
