414
top 36 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 51 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Uvula? The german says Gaumenzäpfchen. It's a Zäpfchen and it's dangling from the Gaumen. Makes sense, no?

[-] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 20 points 4 weeks ago

Reminds me of the Flammenwerfer!

[-] Spezi@feddit.org 6 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

It’s literally a 1:1 translation of Flamethrower.

There are much better examples for long German words beeing short in English like

Toy = Spielzeug (Play Stuff)

Mall = Einkaufszentrum (Shopping Centre)

Sale = Schlussverkauf (End sale)

Matchbox = Streichholzschachtel (Swipe wood box)

Lighter = Feuerzeug (Fire Creator)

[-] Vincent@feddit.nl 6 points 4 weeks ago

I don't think that was intended as an example of a long German word being short in English. Rather, it was an example of the meaning of a word being clear from the word itself.

[-] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

To me it was both. The descriptive nature of words on the one hand and the word length which often comes with it on the other.

Eichhörnchenschwanz is one more nice example (it also works with dialects: oachkatzlschwoaf - an oak cat's tail) :D

[-] Vincent@feddit.nl 2 points 4 weeks ago

🇳🇱 Eekhoorntjesstaart! (And vlammenwerper of course.)

[-] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 2 points 4 weeks ago

Google insists that I must have mistyped eekhoorntjestaart. Who am I to argue? 🤷‍♀️

[-] stroz@infosec.pub 17 points 4 weeks ago

Didn't know I'd be thinking about a "palate suppository" when I woke up today, but here it is.

[-] Successful_Try543@feddit.org 23 points 4 weeks ago

The word Zäpfchen itself is the diminutive of Zapfen, a stud, peg or pin. E.g. the fruits of needle trees are also called Zapfen, Tannen-, Fichten- or Kiefernzapfen. So Gaumenzäpfchen is a small stud dangling down from the palate.

[-] stroz@infosec.pub 11 points 4 weeks ago

This makes way more sense! (and also makes it obvious I currently do not speak German 😅)

[-] stevedice@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 weeks ago

So it's a girl house.

[-] papalonian@lemmy.world 31 points 4 weeks ago
[-] Brahvim@lemmy.kde.social 3 points 4 weeks ago
[-] papalonian@lemmy.world 4 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

That was my first guess, but when I sounded out the words as spelled it didn't sound very... tongue-y. Maybe I'm not hearing it right.

Edit: you don't even use your tongue to make the K sound 🤔

[-] TRBoom@lemm.ee 2 points 4 weeks ago

You do use it. You need to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth to make a k sound.

This happens close to the back of your mouth where the molars are…

[-] papalonian@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago

Huh, fair enough.

I still don't associate the tongue with a K sound 😅 a lisp I feel would make more sense

[-] Senseless@feddit.org 20 points 4 weeks ago
[-] barkingspiders@infosec.pub 15 points 4 weeks ago

IT SOUNDS LIKE A SEX THING

[-] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 6 points 4 weeks ago
[-] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Anything can be a sex thing (once) if you're brave enough

[-] garbagebagel@lemmy.world 14 points 4 weeks ago

I was talking to my hairdresser once and accidentally called my tonsils testicles so maybe uvula can be vulva now to make it all even

[-] Mozingo@lemmy.world 12 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I think of this scene from Monster House every single time I hear the word uvula https://youtu.be/oM0SArkFxco

[-] dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 10 points 4 weeks ago
[-] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 4 points 4 weeks ago
[-] FurtiveFugitive@lemm.ee 3 points 4 weeks ago
[-] wabafee@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

Monster house reference I think.

I also am pavlov'd to remember this line every time, great minds think alike. Or the superior German proverb, two fools one thought

[-] SapientSloth@feddit.org 1 points 4 weeks ago

Great minds think alike is only half the proverb. The other one is: , but fools rarely differ. Somewhat similar to the german one.

[-] letsgo@lemm.ee 4 points 4 weeks ago

Wasn't Uvula that comms officer on Star Trek?

[-] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 4 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

That's called a "clacker" where I come from.

[Edit] That might be a really local dialect term that nobody else understands.

[-] palordrolap@fedia.io 3 points 4 weeks ago

It might be a family thing, or even dialectal from where I grew up, but its common name for me is "(the) clack".

Wiktionary suggests that the name "clack" is used for the tongue, but then there's this Black country (UK West Midlands, where I'm not from) dialect page: https://www.sedgleymanor.com/dictionaries/dialect.html that actually lists "clack" as being a name for the uvula, so it might well dialectal word used the north of England and the midlands.

[-] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 weeks ago

Delightful and relatable

[-] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 weeks ago

Must've been confusing to the Romans

this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
414 points (97.3% liked)

Comic Strips

13257 readers
645 users here now

Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.

The rules are simple:

Web of links

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS