Word of the week

General

Word of the Week: sudern [ˈzuːdɐn]

To complain, bitch, moan or grumble. And someone who frequently engages in such pessimistic ramblings is called a Suderant. Origin most likely from sieden (to simmer), the implication being that instead of an outburst, anger simmers steadily beneath the surface, never boiling over.

Ryan Powell - January 14, 2021

General

Word of the Week: deppert [ˈdɛpɐt]

Verb. To march arduously, to slog, plod or trudge; can also mean to limp and, by extension, to strut (comparable to “pimp walk”).

Ryan Powell - January 7, 2021

General

Word of the Week: Hatschen [ˈhaːʧn̩]

Verb. To march arduously, to slog, plod or trudge; can also mean to limp and, by extension, to strut (comparable to “pimp walk”).

Metropole - December 31, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Pragmatisierung [pʀaɡmatiˈziːʀʊŋ]

A practice commonly associated with Austrian government employees denoting that a civil servant is legally unfireable.

Metropole - December 17, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Proporz [pʀoˈpɔʁʦ]

The proportional division of public offices along party lines.

Metropole - December 10, 2020

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Word of the Week: Nervenkitzel [ˈnɛʁfn̩ˌkɪtsl̩]

Lit. “nerve tickle”; an informal German expression denoting the thrill and rush of adrenaline-inducing activities.

Metropole - December 3, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Blad [blaːt]

Adjective. Fat, overweight, obese. Orig. from gebläht (bloated).

Metropole - November 26, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Leiwand [ˈlaɪ̯vant]

Awesome, cool, excellent. Sometimes emphasized as urleiwand or voi leiwand (totally awesome).

Metropole - November 19, 2020

General

Word of the Week: E-Card Urlaub [iːkɑːd ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]

Lit. “e-card vacation;” colloquial Viennese slang for going on (paid) sick leave.

Metropole - November 12, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Hackln [ˈhakln]

Verb. To work, especially hard, physical labor.

Metropole - November 5, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Pfuschen [ˈpfʊʃn̩]

Verb. 1. To do a slipshod, haphazard, unprofessional or poor-quality job.

Metropole - October 29, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Aufpudln [ˈaʊ ̯ fˌpuːdl n]

Verb. To get worked up; to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Metropole - October 22, 2020

General

Word of the Week: transdanubien [tʀansˈdaˈnubiən]̯

Noun. Lit. Transdanubia, a popular nickname for the two Viennese districts beyond the Danube.

Metropole - October 15, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Terrisch [ˈtɛʁɪʃ]

Deaf, hard of hearing to the point of exasperation.

Metropole - October 8, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Gspusi [ˈkʃpuːzi̩]

Coll. Viennese for a casual, informal liaison.

Metropole - October 1, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Bummerl [ˈbʊmɐɺl]

Noun. A loss, originally in the central European card game, Schnapsen.

Metropole - September 24, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Bassena [ba’se:na]

Noun. Orig. either French basin or Italian bacino, both meaning basin.

Metropole - September 17, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Karambolage [kaʀamboˈlaːʒə]

Noun. A car crash, particularly multivehicle pileups.

Metropole - September 10, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Fetzen [ˈfɛt͡sn̩]

Noun. In use since at least the 14th century, this highly versatile word has multiple meanings.

Metropole - September 3, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Schlawiner [ʃlaˈviːnɐ]

Noun. A loveable rogue; someone who is untrustworthy, but charming.

Metropole - August 27, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Schiach [ʃiːɐ̯ç]

adjective. Ugly, unattractive, aesthetically displeasing.

Metropole - August 20, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Wappler [ˈvaplɐ]

Noun. An incapable, clumsy and generally incompetent person.

Metropole - August 13, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Servus [ˈseɐ̯vus]

Greeting. Often contracted in conversation as Servas!, Sers! or Seas! Also used to say goodbye.

Metropole - August 6, 2020

General

Word of the Week: i-tüpferl-Reiter [i:-dYpfəl-raɪtʰə]

Noun.Lit. “i-dot-rider;” A pedantic person; a stickler; someone who insists on dotting all “i’s” and crossing all “t’s.”

Metropole - July 30, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Gründerzeit [ˈɡʁʏndɐˌt͡saɪ̯t]

Noun. Lit. Founder’s Era. A time during the second half of the 19th century where Austria (Austria-Hungary after 1867) became industrialized and under went unprecedented modernization and growth.

Metropole - July 22, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Jause [‘jaʊ̯zə]

Noun. A snack, or a (usually cold) meal served in between the standard breakfast, lunch and dinner, although coffee and cake also qualifies. Orig...

Metropole - July 15, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Bagage [baˈɡaːʃ]

Noun. Riffraff, reprobates, a group of people you generally hold a low opinion of. A loanword from French that made it into the Viennese ...

Metropole - July 9, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Blitzgneisser

Noun. A very smart person. Lit. a "lightning comprehender," someone who gets things in a flash. A compound word consisting of...

Metropole - June 25, 2020

General

Word of the Week: Bürgerschreck

Noun. Lit. "Terrorizer of the Bourgeoisie;" A person who deliberately tries to shock and offend the conservative middle classes with prov...

Metropole - May 22, 2020

Word of the Week: sudern [ˈzuːdɐn]

Word of the Week: deppert [ˈdɛpɐt]

Word of the Week: Hatschen [ˈhaːʧn̩]

Word of the Week: Pragmatisierung [pʀaɡmatiˈziːʀʊŋ]

Word of the Week: Proporz [pʀoˈpɔʁʦ]

Word of the Week: Nervenkitzel [ˈnɛʁfn̩ˌkɪtsl̩]

Word of the Week: Blad [blaːt]

Word of the Week: Leiwand [ˈlaɪ̯vant]

Word of the Week: E-Card Urlaub [iːkɑːd ˈuːɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯p]

Word of the Week: Hackln [ˈhakln]

Word of the Week: Pfuschen [ˈpfʊʃn̩]

Word of the Week: Aufpudln [ˈaʊ ̯ fˌpuːdl n]

Word of the Week: transdanubien [tʀansˈdaˈnubiən]̯

Word of the Week: Terrisch [ˈtɛʁɪʃ]

Word of the Week: Gspusi [ˈkʃpuːzi̩]

Word of the Week: Bummerl [ˈbʊmɐɺl]

Word of the Week: Bassena [ba’se:na]

Word of the Week: Karambolage [kaʀamboˈlaːʒə]

Word of the Week: Fetzen [ˈfɛt͡sn̩]

Word of the Week: Schlawiner [ʃlaˈviːnɐ]

Word of the Week: Schiach [ʃiːɐ̯ç]

Word of the Week: Wappler [ˈvaplɐ]

Word of the Week: Servus [ˈseɐ̯vus]

Word of the Week: i-tüpferl-Reiter [i:-dYpfəl-raɪtʰə]

Word of the Week: Gründerzeit [ˈɡʁʏndɐˌt͡saɪ̯t]

Word of the Week: Jause [‘jaʊ̯zə]

Word of the Week: Bagage [baˈɡaːʃ]

Word of the Week: Blitzgneisser

Word of the Week: Bürgerschreck

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