Noun. A hassle or delay from foolish antics and unnecessary complications. Always used in plural. Orig. Italian, from spampanata (braggadocio). A highly useful word for deriding life’s little annoyances, Spompanadln can be anything from an unruly child refusing to leave the playground, an elderly lady in the supermarket insisting on giving exact change or an indecisive person holding up the line at the Würstelstand. The key is that it’s an irritating, entirely avoidable inconvenience caused by stubbornness, incompetence or dithering but rarely outright malice – Spompanadln are generally born from thoughtlessness, inconsideration, forgetfulness and stupidity, not ill intent. Either way, whenever someone makes life needlessly complicated, the answer is the same: Mach kane Spompanadn! (Quit messing around!).
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No matter how well you speak German, the Word Of The Week will help you impress any Viennese! While learning German is not an easy task in general, learning the language in Austria can come to be twice as complicated.
Strongly linked to local cultural individualities, the slangs change and evolve in all cultures around the world, the words and phrases make sense only when one is familiar with their cultural context. The Word of the Week is here to help you understand those singularities and impress the locals with some real Viennese words and expressions.
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