cool german words because WHY NOT*
treppenwitz: literally “staircase wit”, basically when someone insults you and it’s not until hours later you think of the PERFECT comeback. can also mean “history that contradicts itself. (it’s a loan word from the french term L’esprit de l’escalier)
Kummerspeck: literally “grief bacon”**, when you gain a load of weight for emotionally overeating
backpfeifengesicht : a face in need of a fist
*because GERMAN IS COOL
** things that would make a good band name
AU | dark Basil | Backpfeifengesicht
Baker Street. Basil looked down at the paper in his hand, advertising a small apartment for rent, which was just what he needed. Staying in a small lab room on the floor the past few weeks had gotten rather old… for the owner, at least. That was too bad, it had been convenient. Still, he couldn’t help but think how nice having a small space of his own would be. He rather liked being in well-to-do places, if he was to be honest with himself, and was especially eager to get away from nagging people.
He rubbed a hand through his wind-swept hair and picked up a box before he stepped inside to the landing, where he was met by the landlady and exchanged a few words before he nodded with finality. He went back out to where his motorcycle (yes, motorcycle) was parked, leaving to return soon after with another box, both of which were brought upstairs and dropped unceremoniously on the floor. The space was small and square and furnished sparsely, but cozily. The corner of his lips turned up slightly as he fell into an armchair in front of the fireplace. Yes, this would do very well indeed.
Backpfeifengesicht
The german word for “a face badly in need of a fist.”
I’m not joking. This is an actual word that people use. Kind of like defenestration (throwing someone/something out of a window). There’s even a wikipedia page on that one!
… I need to go back to work.
The Alphabet of Shi (B is for Bonus)
Fandom: SPG Fanbots
Characters: Shi Carlton, Magpie
Rating: PG
Summary: B is for Backpfeifengesicht, a German word meaning a person who needs to be struck. Literally, ‘A face that needs a fist in it.’
Author’s Note: I can’t promise I’ll manage one of these a day, but I’m going to try to do one a day until I hit ‘z’. They’re all going to be short, and some will be from AUs, but basically I’m making a series of fics about Shi based around interesting words in alphabetical order.
I guess today is a twofer.
—-
It’s well ingrained in Shi’s nature, the urge to do violence unto that which frustrates him.
