Reply to: Gross Britain

[AlfredJPruffock]

I recall a German Engineering company that had some memorable employee names eg -a certain Christian Brothel and another Herr Killler - whose job was a manager - sounds like a formidable chap.

[RichardCranium]

I once caused confusion and giggles with "Du bist wilkommen".

[NotAllThere]

Schwul, schwül. I tend to use "feucht".

I was once discussing the snow conditions with my German colleagues. I said the snow had been a bit mushy. They didn't know the word, so I looked it up in my dictionary - "weichlich".

My (female) client manager burst out laughing. A little later, a male colleague told me that, at least locally, it means "wet", as in turned on lady...

otoh, my wife had a lot of fun telling an American (male) to look up smegma in the dictionary, after he'd watch his first episode of Red Dwarf... he was so embarrassed - repressed git.

[Paddy]

Send 'body mist' back as a 'gift'. Make sure you write that on the outside.

It reminded me of a German watching the BBC weather forecast with mist written all over the UK. “Is that for farming?”

[VectraMan]

Actually, many people say that we Germans have nicht sense of humour!

keine, surely.

Stupid language.

[darmstadt]

I remeber a mate going to buy a mattress here some years back. Thinking that the word would be similar in German he ent into the shop asking for a 'zwei meter Matrose' which just happens to mean a 'two meter sailor.' Oh how the shop assistants laughed.

I recall asking the missus where I could buy a pouffe here to rest my feet on and she was very confused as that also means brothel here.

[bobhope]

I've finally got to the level where I can make wordplay jokes in my German lessons.

Describing a married couple, I managed to mix up foltern (to torture) and fordern (to demand/ask). Oh how we laughed :-)

As you can see, I'm still a way off from doing a Ronnie Corbett routine yet.

[gingerjedi]

Not the world's greatest comedian, but what he says is spot on.

"In Britain you like to be owned by a house... I mean you like to own your house"

[Sysman]

Henning Wehn

DP will like this guy, house prices, doomed etc etc, spot on though.

Not the world's greatest comedian, but what he says is spot on.

[OwlHoot]

I gather the 'Great' prefix was meant to signify 'greater', as in greater London.

The philosopher Sir Francis Bacon suggested the 'Great' prefix in the early 1600s, to avoid confusion with Brittany in north west France. So yes, it is only supposed to be a geographical distinction.

[darmstadt]

Ha ha I just received a package shipped by Customer in Germany.

Last line of the address: "Gross Britannien" !

Who says the Germans have no sense of humour?!

Pretty nearly correct, it should be:

Großbritannien

where the 'ß' does also mean 'ss'

[NotAllThere]

Of course the Germans have a sense of humour. It's just that it involves invading Poland.

"...hey, es war nur ein witz!"

btw, according to Freud, what lies between fear and sex?



















funf.

[MrMark]

Send 'body mist' back as a 'gift'. Make sure you write that on the outside.

Sehr gut!

[gingerjedi]

Henning Wehn

DP will like this guy, house prices, doomed etc etc, spot on though.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Send 'body mist' back as a 'gift'. Make sure you write that on the outside.