Best German animal words that having nothing to do with animals
From bull's heat to water rooster and savings fox, here are the eight most quirky German words that sound like they're linked to the animal kingdom.
Gänsefuesschen
Imagine tiny geese feet - the literal translation of the term - dunked in black ink. Then imagine the marks these feet might make if they scurried across a white sheet of paper. If quotation marks come to mind, you're right. "Gänsefuesschen" is a colloquial word for those two little dashes at the beginning and end of a quote.
Wasserhahn
A "water rooster" never crows, and it doesn't live on a farmyard either. It's a faucet or tap that controls the water supply of a sink or bathtub. In German, the valve that blocks the flow section is in older-model taps actually called a chick ("Küken"), so calling the faucet a water rooster is consistent with the imagery.
Brillenschlange
A spectacles snake? What on earth is that? There is, in fact, a snake by a similar name: the Spectacled Cobra. But in German, "Brillenschlange" is a rather sexist and dismissive term for a woman who wears glasses - and that in a country where more than 60 percent of the population wears corrective eyewear.
Bullenhitze
Germans sometimes add an animal name to a word to reinforce its meaning. "Bull's heat" - which can also be called "Affenhitze," or "monkey's heat" - is a colloquial way of saying that it isn't just hot. It's unbearably hot - a real scorcher of a day.
Eselsbrücke
You've forgotten your boss's wife's name, the date of the Battle of Antietam, or your favorite uncle's birthday? What you need is a "donkey bridge" - a fool-proof phrase to help you remember. Supposedly the name comes from the Middle Ages, when people built simple bridges for donkeys to transport goods across rivers they didn't want to wade through. These days, donkey bridges are in your brain.
Drahtesel
Here's another donkey word, the "wire donkey." If you take a look at the wire donkey's shape and what it is used for, it's really not that far-fetched at all. It refers to a bicycle, which is used all over the world to transport people and goods.
Sparfuchs
Literally a "savings fox," a "Sparfuchs" is a person who tends to be thrifty. But why not a savings dog or cat? Perhaps because foxes are regarded as cunning, smart creatures - just like people who know how to be economical.
Lackaffe
"Affe" is German for monkey - but no, this has nothing to do with monkeys or apes. A "lacquered monkey" is a dandy - a pretty boy with one eye on the mirror. Unlike the fellow in the photo, he would have sported the shiniest of patent leather shoes. Being termed a Lackaffe is no compliment.