Writer's Block: The Wrath of Ohrwurm

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Writer's Block: The Wrath of Ohrwurm

Nov. 26th, 2008 at 10:33 PM

ladyofsalzburg

willard41

The Wrath of Ohrwurm

German has a word for everything, like ohrwurm. Translated literally as "earworm" in English, it's the word for songs that get stuck in your head and won't go away. What earworm of a song do you most dread burrowing into your head?

Reply 253

They may have a word for earworm but they have no word for 'fluffy'...

Comments

( 11 humble opinions — Your humble opinion? )

loveberlinxo

Nov. 26th, 2008 10:59 pm (UTC)

FLUFFY! Those evil Germans.

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ladyofsalzburg

Nov. 27th, 2008 10:16 am (UTC)

You seen Blackadder too then?

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feeverte

Nov. 27th, 2008 12:11 am (UTC)

I am very sorry to have to tell you this, but I'm quite sure 'Ohrwurm' beats 'fluffy' fair and square. We have a few synonyms for fluffy, but there is nothing close to the brilliance of Ohrwurm in the English language, and I say that as someone who likes English more than German. And as someone who has taught every Brit I've ever met the word earworm :)
Sorry. I'm drunk.

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ladyofsalzburg

Nov. 27th, 2008 10:15 am (UTC)

Hahah, the fluffy quote is actually from Blackadder, so blame Rowan Atkinson for it!

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shortbutfast

Nov. 27th, 2008 11:44 am (UTC)

ah but we do!
fluffy would be flauschig when it's the kitty kind of fluffy.
or locker-flockig when it's about food.
or kuschelig when it's about, say, a fluffy sweater.

german is dangerously precise. which kind of reflects national character, hehe.

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ladyofsalzburg

Nov. 27th, 2008 02:32 pm (UTC)

Ah right ok. As I said above, it's actually a quote from Blackadder and at the time I don't think there was actually a word for fluffy (many bored lessons in school spent searching through dictionaries discovered this was correct).
Though, in my boredom state, I've just checked what those words you said mean and got fleecy, loose-fluffy and cuddly, so not really fluffy still.

I know German is very precise (unlike English which amuses me enormously with its equivocal words) though I still think the best German word is geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung :D

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