Tag: German

May 12

Fremdschämen

fremdschämen (German). “This is what occurs when you are embarrassed for someone who ought to be embarrassed for himself, but isn’t.” From Douglas Wilson, Whose Ox Is Being Sued

Nov 01

Bausünde

A German word describing an architectural eyesore (literally: “construction sin”). Or, in my opinion, all skyscrapers in any style other than Art Deco. via Better Than English, which has lots of other neat words from other languages.

Nov 06

kummerspeck

My daughter found this word and sent it to me. It’s a German word “kummerspeck” that means “excess weight gained by emotional over-eating” and translates literally as “grief bacon.”

Aug 14

Overheard: teenage girls watching a movie

15 Year Old: She’s not very pretty. 17 Year Old: She’s German. Very German.

Nov 20

Best 4th of July ever

My favorite 4th of July memory happened the summer after I turned 12. We were over at the house of one of my Dad’s friends, a loud German guy named Bob. Bob lived in Kansas, and despite the state’s reputation for flatness, Bob lived on an amazingly steep hill. Both his front and back yards sloped …

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Jul 20

Schadenfreude

German word, pronounced “SHAHD-n-FROID-uh.” The literal translation is “shameful laughing,” and it means laughing at the misfortunes of others, kind of like I do in that story about Timmy’s cough.