Colganology: The Germans have a word for it

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

The Germans have a word for it

Some excellent words in German for which there is no English single word equivalent:

Kummerspeck - 'grief bacon': it is the word that describes the excess weight gained from emotion-related overeating.

Putzfimmel is a mania for cleaning

Drachenfutter - literally translated as 'dragon fodder' - are the peace offerings made by guilty husbands to their wives.

Fachidiot - Someone who knows a lot about a particular field, in a similar way to a one-track specialist.

Backpfeifengesicht - a face which invites you to slap it.

Torschlusspanik - meaning last-minute panic (literally door-shut panic).

Kaffeepaussi - a coffee break or simply a break.

Zimmerlaut - 'room volume' as in 'room temperature'

Fanmeile - stretches of streets which were reserved for World Cup match-watching and general revelry this summer, is a bit of a hybrid, and has been voted the German Word of the Year by the Society for the German Language.

And, while not a single word, worth mentioning anyway:

'Die beleidigte Leberwurst spielen' - to stick one's lower lip out in a sulk (literally, to play the insulted liver sausage).

Source: Daily Telegraph

Footnote:

Here are two more that were sent to me by @redjodie1973 via Twitter:

Hubschrauberlandedecke - helicopter landing spot.

Fahrvergnugen - The joy of driving.

1 comment:

Anonymous5 September 2012 at 22:16
It's "Zimmerlautstärke" not "Zimmerlaut" ("Zimmerlautaerke" in case you have no umlauts).
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Praise for Joined-Up Thinking

'I found myself fascinated and somewhat dizzy. Most impressive' - Stephen Fry

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'This is not a stocking filler - this is a real book. Buy several copies and keep one' - Daily Telegraph

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