German word of the day: Der Schattenparker
Always thought that parking your car in the shade was the best thing to do? The German language seems to disagree.
This word is made up from 'shadow' or 'shade' (der Schatten) and der Parker. So a Schattenparker is literally somebody who parks their car in the shade in order to avoid it heating up in the sun.
While this may sound like a sensible idea and not one worth criticising, this word is used to dismiss someone as a wimp. Parking in the shade to avoid the sun is seen as a sign of weakness.
This criticism definitely contradicts the stereotype that Austrians normally favour sensible behaviour.
In fact, there's something of a trend among Austrians - and indeed Germans - to create insulting compound nouns in order to mock habits seen as weak or immasculine.
READ ALSO: How to insult someone in Austria
Here are a few other German compound nouns which are used to insult others…
Der Sockenschläfer- sock sleeper
Der Warmduscher- warm showerer
Der Frühbucher- early booker
Der Chefwitzlacher- someone who laughs at their bosses’ jokes
Der Jeansbügler- jeans ironer
Der Teetrinker -someone who drinks tea
Der Sitzpinkler- (a man) who wees sitting down
Das Weichei- soft egg
Der Handschuhschneeballwerfer- the glove-snowball-thrower (someone who needs to wear gloves when throwing snowballs because the snow is too cold for their hands)
Meanwhile, in case you're wondering, der Schwächling is a non-compound noun that means weakling.
Examples:
Er macht es nicht, weil er seine Hände nicht schmutzig machen will. Er ist so ein Schattenparker!
He isn't doing it because he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty - he is so weak!
Ich bin kein Schattenparker!
I am not a weakling!
Comments
See Also
This word is made up from 'shadow' or 'shade' (der Schatten) and der Parker. So a Schattenparker is literally somebody who parks their car in the shade in order to avoid it heating up in the sun.
While this may sound like a sensible idea and not one worth criticising, this word is used to dismiss someone as a wimp. Parking in the shade to avoid the sun is seen as a sign of weakness.
This criticism definitely contradicts the stereotype that Austrians normally favour sensible behaviour.
In fact, there's something of a trend among Austrians - and indeed Germans - to create insulting compound nouns in order to mock habits seen as weak or immasculine.
READ ALSO: How to insult someone in Austria
Here are a few other German compound nouns which are used to insult others…
Der Sockenschläfer- sock sleeper
Der Warmduscher- warm showerer
Der Frühbucher- early booker
Der Chefwitzlacher- someone who laughs at their bosses’ jokes
Der Jeansbügler- jeans ironer
Der Teetrinker -someone who drinks tea
Der Sitzpinkler- (a man) who wees sitting down
Das Weichei- soft egg
Der Handschuhschneeballwerfer- the glove-snowball-thrower (someone who needs to wear gloves when throwing snowballs because the snow is too cold for their hands)
Meanwhile, in case you're wondering, der Schwächling is a non-compound noun that means weakling.
Examples:
Er macht es nicht, weil er seine Hände nicht schmutzig machen will. Er ist so ein Schattenparker!
He isn't doing it because he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty - he is so weak!
Ich bin kein Schattenparker!
I am not a weakling!
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.