Poison mug
The Bavarian vocabulary has the names Gifthaferl and Giftnickl for people who are quick-tempered and violent.
A mug is a small pot, which in this case is filled with poison in the sense of anger and annoyance. If such a poisonous person also strikes, he is a “Narian Deifi”, i.e. a foolish devil. Rough, unpolished and rude men are also referred to as Glachl, Lackl and Gloifl (Gloiffe).
In the innocence of his youth, the footballer Paul Breitner sometimes presented himself as a verbal poison and had to be admonished by sports reporter Harry Valerien not to be so poisonous. The actor Klaus Kinski (1926-91), whose screaming excesses are immortalized in Werner Herzog’s film “My Dearest Enemy”, was a pure poison. There are also poisonous mugs roaming around in the field of politics; one quirky example was SPD icon Herbert Wehner (1906-90).
Meatballs
Reader Bodo Bleinagel has sent his greatest thanks to SZ sample author Ivan Lende. Namely for Lende’s comments on the Fleischpfanzerl, which is commonly referred to as a Fleischpfanzerl, as if it came from a plant. Bleinagel writes that, with reference to Schmeller’s Bavarian dictionary, he has been trying for many years to get rid of the L in the word meat planter, “unfortunately in vain.” Bleinagel regrets that hardly anyone in this country wants to understand that the Fleischpfanzerl is only a small part of a product made from carbohydrates, but that, as Lende correctly wrote, the small pan was named after it. It must be added editorially at this point that the old word Fanzel could also have played a role in the creation of the word Fleischpfanzl (porridge, meat porridge). Of course, everything would be much simpler and clearer if the Bavarians would call the Fleischpfanzl – like the Austrians – minced Loaberl (loaves).
Gred
In fact, from a linguistic point of view, the Gred is related to the Latin words gradus (step, tread, step) and ingredi (to enter) and refers to the slightly raised, narrow area in front of the house entrance, often paved with stones. Since you could get into the house on the Gred, the residents of the house brushed off the dirt that stuck to their shoes. In addition, the Gred used to be a popular place to stay and corresponded to today’s garden terrace.
huddle
Regarding the verb hudeln, which was recently mentioned here, Heinz Duschner from Mainz refers to the art of baking bread. Duschner writes: “After the baking chambers of the ovens were brought to the correct temperature with wood fire, any remaining charred wood residues, ash, etc. had to be removed from the combustion chamber in order to then be able to load the bread dough to be baked. For this purpose, the combustion chamber was filled with damp rags (Hudel) wiped out. But since it was still very hot in the combustion chamber, you had to hurry when you did the Hudel, so hudel.” So not rushing means: you should take your time.
stand by
On Saturday, Franz Duke of Bavaria celebrated his 90th birthday with many guests. Dozens of delegations from Bavarian shooting and traditional clubs lined up at the thanksgiving service in the Jesuit Church of St. Michael in Munich. During the service, church sonatas by Mozart and Haydn’s timpani mass were played; it was a festive event in every respect. The ceremony naturally took time, which is why the flag delegations needed solid stamina. Although the mountain riflemen and costumers all had tight calves, many were of advanced age, and so it soon became apparent that one or two of the participants could no longer stand it, as they say in Bavarian in such cases. Luckily there were chairs and benches set up in the side aisles so that some people could take a break from sitting there. Afterwards, it was easier for the men to attend mass, and it was pleasing to see that they were cheerful and energetic again at the subsequent reception in the Augustiner main building in the pedestrian zone.
The word deresten belongs to a long series of Bavarian verbs with the verbal prefix der- (derlaufen, derbarmen, derblecken). Prefixes of this type are found in all German dialects, but the one with der- is typical of Bavarian and does not occur anywhere else. The linguist Alfred Bammesberger says that the prefix der- (pronounced da-) creates a certain finality in the content of the statement. This also applies to Duke Franz’s birthday party: those who couldn’t stand it simply sat down.
z’China
The current program by cabaret artist Annamirl Spies is called “Z’China dahoam”. The Lower Bavarian spent three years with her husband in the so-called Middle Kingdom and gained a lot of experience there, which she now presents on stage. A presenter on the Bayern 1 radio program was recently confused as to why they say z’China. She asked Annamirl Spies to please translate it. She did that, but was unable to properly explain why there was a “z” there. “Z’China is just called in China,” she said. In fact, the “z” is common in Bavarian as a shortening of “zu” as a preposition when specifying a location. “I was at Minga drom yesterday,” they say, or: “I’m at Weber z’Wölling at home.” Another said, “It’s America right now.” The “z” is also used to indicate time: “Z’Mittag komm i hoam.” Or if the “too” expresses excess, as can be read in Ludwig Merkle’s Bavarian Grammar: “The path is two wide for me.”