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Tag Archives: World War

The Curiosity of the German Word “Shitstorm” Posted by on Jun 25, 2020

Today we’re looking at a a really fun German word: Der Shitstorm. I already hear you say “but that’s not a German word!” And you’d be right, of course. But hear me out, it gets funkier! But let me first tell you about the curious German word Shitstorm. Merkel said this?! Angela Merkel, the German Bundeskanzlerin, known…

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Untranslatable German Words: 08/15 Posted by on Jul 11, 2019

Untranslatable words can also be a simple array of 4 numbers – 08/15 is a term that has entrenched itself in everyday German. Pun intended. What does 08/15 mean? According to the Duden, 08/15 means “bar jeglicher Originalität, persönlichen Note; auf ein alltäglich gewordenes Muster festgelegt und deshalb Langeweile oder Überdruss erzeugend” (bare of any originality, personal character…

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The Origin of the Panzer Posted by on Nov 11, 2018

It is Armistice, the English word for the German Waffenruhe (“weapon rest”). It marks the end of der Erste Weltkrieg (World War I), which was exactly 100 years ago today. At the time, Soldaten (soldiers) still fought on horseback, frequently used bayonets on their rifles and machinery was scarce. This changed on September 15, 1916, when the British brought a novelty to…

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