Thursday, July 05, 2007

Aktuelle Angebot: deutsche Wörter



I can't even think of a single English word that describes the horizontal crease between buttock and thigh. Does that come up much? Does it come up enough to warrant TWO words for it?

10 comments:

Rufus said...

No, it doesn't. But now that I know the word, I'm going to work it into conversations.

Anonymous said...

There *should* be a word for it -- to me, it's one of the sexiest parts of the body.

Anyway, how do you pronounce the word?

Holly said...

Rufus - I've been working these words into conversation, by adopting Poritze as a nickname for my spouse. This has not been a big hit.

Hiromi -

guh-zess-fallt-uh
poe-fallt-uh (with mild emphasis on the italicized syllables.

Rufus said...

Hiromi- Yeah, I guess it is sexy. My favorite body part has always been those lower-back dimples that women have. They seem to have no name either. I hope this isn't rude to say, but considering the rough year that you've had, it's also good to hear you talk about what things you think are sexy.

Holly- This reminds me of a friend who tried to normalize the use of Slayer lyrics in conversation. You might have to google their lyrics to see how difficult that was. It was actually pretty funny in traffic. Also, I'll remember to call Greg Poritze the next time I see you two.

Incidentally, isn't it weird that I haven't actually seen you since I was sixteen?

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Holly.

What does the "ugs." mean? Synonym? To me it looks like you can call both the ass crack *and* the crease between buttock and thigh guh-zess-fallt-uh.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and no Rufus, it isn't rude at all. In the past year, I've had moments of normal in which I could talk about all kinds of things, but now it seems like the moments have gotten longer and longer.

Holly said...

Rufus - better not to call him that next time you see him. He's just threatened to put cat kibble in my crepes about that. And yes, I was thinking about that time lag thing the other day, I think it was when you posted your recipe pictures. It's pretty normal (for me) not to see people for many years and still have contact with them, but you are probably the record-holder at this point, for the longest gap since in-person interaction.

Hiromi - ugs. designates umgangssprachlich which means, don't use it in formal writing -- ie, colloquial. These are all compound nouns, actually built of two words that are complete on their own
Gesäß + Spalte (backside/bottom/buttocks + crevice/crack/cleavage)
Po + Falte (bum/fanny/tush + crease/tuck/wrinkle) I kind of get the sense that Gesäß is more polite, and Spalte indicates much greater distance, so that wouldn't be used for the horizontal crease. Another use of Spalte would be, if you were peeking through the gap where a door was open just a tiny bit into another room--that gap is a Spalte, while if someone had a wrinkly face, they'd have Falten (plural Falte). So, the first bits of each word are interchangeable, while the second half is more location/orientation/depth specific. OK, I'll stop now. :)

I'm a big fan of transitional areas on the body, myself. The arm-wrist-hand, the buttock->thigh, head-neck-shoulder. All good stuff.

Greg von Winckel said...

Sadly with the fattening of humanity, transitional areas are going the way of the dodo. People are becoming spherical... or getting folds where there were none before.

Sophzilla said...

I'm working to improve my German. This will surely come in handy. Oh the Germans. So very, very specific!

Rufus said...

Holly: Transitional places are underrated, aren't they? Well, except for the inner thigh. I hate to say this, but the last time I remember seeing you, I wasn't old enough to drive, as I recall. So, it may well have been 17 years ago. Inexcusable really. I will say that I think it's very romantic how the two of you were reunited.

Greg: It's true- while we lose transitional areas, we gain places to hide things on the body. Eventually, the average person will be able to hide a small endtable in their folds.

Hiromi: Welcome back. :)

Sophzilla: Thanks for visiting. Good luck with the Germans. I should find out how to ask them to show me their poritzen.