Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition - Tapa dura

Ben Schott's lexicon of Teutonic definitions is a work of brilliance . . . it is the best fun * The Times * Ben Schott presents a miniature delight * Metro * Ben Schott, the undisputed King of Christmas books, returns . . . Like Douglas Adam's classic The Meaning of Liff, this excellent stocking filler allows your friends and family to succinctly express their shameful love of bad foods, Sunday-afternoon depression or delight at the changing of the seasons * Mumsnet * Schott of Miscellany fame is back with an inspired linguistic compilation in which he explores the idiosyncracies of the human condition . . . in German * Bookseller * A homage to German's capacity for word-confection . . . it bring[s] the peculiar delight of German to its author's numerous fans * The Spectator *

Ever thought, 'There should be a German word for that'? Well, now there is. From the mind that created Schott's Original Miscellany comes a unique volume exploring the idiosyncrasies of the human condition . . . auf Deutsch. In which language but German could you construct le mot juste for: a shameful love of bad foods, Sunday-afternoon depression, the lingering sensation of a first kiss, delight at the changing of the seasons, the urge to hoard, the joy of the perfectly wrapped present, or the ineffable pleasure of a cool pillow? For example: Haarmonie - Reassuring your hairdresser. Fussfaust - Instinctively curling up your toes in mortification at someone else's embarrassment. Zwillingsmoral - Reading horoscopes you don't believe in. Gastdruck - The exhausting effort of being a good houseguest. and Kraftfahrzeugsinnenausstattungsneugeruchsgenuss - New car smell.