Literally: “dust sucker” / meaning: vacuum cleaner
Just to get that right out of the way: “Vacuum cleaner” is a crappy term, as your new Dyson is not supposed to clean vacuums, but carpets.
In contrast, the German counterpart Staubsauger perfectly sums up the function of this device. Apart from that, “The Dust Sucker” would make up for a cool early 90s WWE wrestling gimmick. Or as the name of a trashy horror flick, probably directed by Peter Jackson before he became famous. However, in defense of the English language, there are even more questionable terms for a vacuum cleaner from other countries.
The Spanish word “aspiradora,” for instance, translates to “someone who breathes in,” which in connection with house dust sounds like the perfect nightmare for people suffering from allergies. Turkish “elektrik süpürgesi” is not very conclusive either. It translates to “electric broom,” implying that you would sweep the dirt under your sofa rather than suck it up with your Staubsauger.
References:
https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Staubsauger
