
Klugscheißer
Klugscheißen is a true national sport in Germany. To be honest, it is hard to have a conversation with a German without them correcting you every 10 seconds.
Klugscheißen is a true national sport in Germany. To be honest, it is hard to have a conversation with a German without them correcting you every 10 seconds.
We always talk about an Extrawurst when someone demands—or actually receives—an inappropriate privilege.
Germans use this word to describe something that is downright boring due to its plainness and really doesn’t lure anyone out from behind the stove.
The origin of this idiom is not entirely clear. However, many believe that there is a connection to the red card in team sports like soccer.
Just to get that right out of the way: “vacuum cleaner” is a crappy term, as my new Dyson does not clean vacuums, but carpets. In contrast, the German counterpart Staubsauger scores with perfect simplicity.
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 term Arschgeweih has been part of popular culture in the early 2000s – there was even an election for “Miss Arschgeweih” conducted by Germany’s biggest daily newspaper “Bild“.
Yes, it’s painful! And it comes without any warning… All it takes is one clumsy movement and you suddenly feel like an 80 year old crock who shouts out in ache every time you stand up from your seat
This term is used quite loosely and frequently in German. For instance, if you try a new recipe on a friend – before you might embarrass yourself in front of your date – he is your Versuchskaninchen.
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!