Wiesn, Mass and Hendl, Gaudi, Rausch and Dirndl – such nouns from the Oktoberfest sphere shape the Munich vocabulary every year at this time. There is also no shortage of relevant adjectives, words like tasty, griabig and dashing, for example. And then there is an adjective that stands out, but it doesn’t end in -ig. It’s about the inconspicuous-sounding word fesch, which was once almost suppressed, but is now in full bloom again, especially at Oktoberfest. The reason is simple: For many visitors to the world’s largest folk festival, it is important to dress beautifully and fashionably, i.e. to be smart, even if, as is often seen this year, with pink Barbie dirndls.
Oktoberfest guests are considered dashing not only when they know how to look fashionably attractive, but also when they cut a good figure overall. The famous FC Bayern also knows this, having had a special Oktoberfest jersey designed in a light green tint. After all, the footballers and their fans also want to be “snazzy at Oktoberfest,” as can be read on the club’s homepage. Fashion labels and traditional costume shops make a similar argument in their online shops: “From dirndls to lederhosen: look stylish at Oktoberfest.”
At first glance, it is hard to tell that the word fesch, used as an adjective and adverb, is an Anglicism. It is considered to be a derivation of the English word fashionable, which probably entered the Viennese colloquial language in the early 19th century. In the shortened form fesch it was finally borrowed into German, where it enjoys great popularity, especially in the south.
The short form is quite practical for the speakers. “You look good again today!” says the literate speaker awkwardly. At the Oktoberfest, two words are enough: “Fesch sind!” A pretty boy, a pretty girl, it becomes a dashing boy, a dashing Deandl.
In Austria you can also hear the meanings nice and friendly (“be smart and come with me!”), which is hardly the case in Bavaria. In the Bavarian Forest they occasionally say neiße instead of dashing, which also indicates an early Anglicism (nice).
Language is subject to constant change. It remains to be seen whether the popular word dashing will survive in the long term. Especially if it expresses a compliment, things could get tricky in the future. In a society that is becoming increasingly linguistically sensitive, compliments that appreciate a person’s appearance are now at a limit. The question that is becoming increasingly important today is: Are there cheeky ulterior motives associated with the compliment or is it about honest recognition and appreciation?