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The German word "Teufelsei" | ||
Tags: Meaning of words | German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| WingSuet Triglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 5352 days ago 169 posts - 211 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English, German Studies: Cantonese | Message 1 of 8 07 January 2015 at 12:22pm | IP Logged |
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What does "Teufelsei" mean? I tried to google it, but the only hits I could get were
about a movie called "Frankensteins Teufelei" and Duden saying it's: "Pilz (besonders Stinkmorchel) während des frühen Stadiums, in dem sein Fruchtkörper einem Ei ähnelt", but that doesn't make any sense. I found the word in the following context: "das 'Teufelsei' sei in den Kriegsjahren wohl in dem 'Elend der Schützengräben' ausgebrütet worden". Is it some kind of metaphor? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Glarus Girl Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4576 days ago 50 posts - 108 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Swiss-German | Message 2 of 8 07 January 2015 at 12:58pm | IP Logged |
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My dictionary says 'devilment'.
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| WingSuet Triglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 5352 days ago 169 posts - 211 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, German Studies: Cantonese | Message 3 of 8 07 January 2015 at 1:08pm | IP Logged |
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Did you look up "Teufelsei" or "Teufelei"? I believe these are different things.
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| Josquin Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4845 days ago 2266 posts - 3992 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian | Message 4 of 8 07 January 2015 at 1:08pm | IP Logged |
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I must admit, I've never heard this word before, but the literal meaning is "devil's egg". So it could be a metaphor.
Or was the word "Teufelei", which would indeed mean "devilment" or "devilry"? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| WingSuet Triglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 5352 days ago 169 posts - 211 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, German Studies: Cantonese | Message 5 of 8 07 January 2015 at 1:10pm | IP Logged |
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Yes, it says "Teufelsei", not "Teufelei"
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| Josquin Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4845 days ago 2266 posts - 3992 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian | Message 6 of 8 07 January 2015 at 1:12pm | IP Logged |
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Then it's a metaphor for something bad that has been "bred" in the trenches of the war.
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| WingSuet Triglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 5352 days ago 169 posts - 211 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, German Studies: Cantonese | Message 7 of 8 07 January 2015 at 1:36pm | IP Logged |
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That sounds like a good explanation! Thanks for your input!
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| Glarus Girl Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4576 days ago 50 posts - 108 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Swiss-German | Message 8 of 8 07 January 2015 at 1:39pm | IP Logged |
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Seems I did look up "Teufelei"! (But I do need new glasses!)
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