The Awful German Language

Someone was just admiring my new shoes and I wanted to say "Yes, the leather was chewed, swallowed and regurgitated by an entire village of Guatemalan peasants to make it soft as butter" and then realized that the only word that comes close to 'peasant' is 'Bauer' which as we all know here, is not the same thing at all.
I'd get bullied for my lack of wittiness in German if they had a word for 'bully'.

wouldn't that be sarcasm, Kat? I don't think there's a word for that either. certainly not an appetite for it, that's for sure...

<speculation mode>
I wonder if the Third Reich would have happened if anyone could have said to Hitler "Hey, cut it out you big bully!"
Oh, but they do do sarcasm and quite a lot of it. In fact, it's amazing how funny they can actually be, considering the limits of the language..

That wasn't funny in English either.

PS - the German word for "to bully" is schikanieren (unless you feel more like "tyranisieren")

yes but is there a word for Schickimicki in English?

Schickimicki - yeah, we call it 'Eurotrash'

Eh?

"SchickiMicki" would be how I would describe P1. You have to appear to be a high earning, well-dressed, good looking person to actually get in there... A but like our very own... Nope, won't say it..

At least that explains why I never managed to get in...

um, how about 'hoity-toity'? I know it's not perfect, but not too far off, oder?

Yuppy
(original meaning was young urban professional, but has spiralled into negative connotations similar to those of Schicki Micki).

Doesn't cut it Crawlie, they've let me in and I don't qualify as SchikiMicki.

Hoity-toity is not a bad comparison.

Hoity-Toity and Yuppy are close but don't really cut it either. The translation is Trendy Goods which is also lame. I don't think there's a viable comparison.

It's my favourite german word, think I'll introduce it into the English language

I think it alreday has entered the language of many English expats here.

What about pretentious or, slightly less negative, trendy?

Also I think I was once asked by a German what was the English word for Schadenfreude.

Doh...didn't realize that was a German word. People I know back home in Canada use it quite a bit...so I figured it was just some slang that I wasn't up with yet (at the time...I know what it is now). And this was a few years ago...so I think it has already made its way across borders and oceans.

It's not really Geman, it's more a Munich/Bavarian thing.

That is not true. Schickimicki is nowaydays used everywhere in Germany but I know that it became popular in the early 70ies when Schwabing changed to what it no longer is (artists quarter etc).

But someone mentioned the word Eurotrash. I always wanted to ask what that exactly means. It is often said by rich women in New York talking about Europeans. What does it mean? Schickimicki or is it even worse? It is someone cheap? Please help me improve my english!

Schicki Micki - poser

Eurotrash: Europeans gatecrashing society by trading on false claims of wealth, titles of nobility etc

Eurotrash makes me think of men who wear the following:

Sunglasses on top of head
Bare feet in leather loafers
T-shirts with blazers paired with jeans
Checkered shirts (aaak!)

I don't see why a yuppy isn't a Schicki Micki. For me, both are the same : someone posing, showing off their money (which they wished they had most of the time), talking on their mobile lots, usually arrogant and pretentious, try to be part of an exclusive clique and only go to certain bars/trendy clubs, where 'fashionable' clothes..

How do you understand a Schicki Micki?

"Yuppy Posers" - seems to cover it? I don't think either one alone quite hits the mark.

I think its Schadenfreude! Its crept into the English language like Angst and wunderkind!

Kat: How about Hinterwäldler for peasant. Back-wooder and also derogatory.

Exile: Gloating for Schadenfreude. According to Leo, the bible for translators, schadenfreude is in use in English, malicious joy bringing up a lame 5th. But the Germans do not have a verb as in "to gloat". Schadenfreuden, schadenfreudigen, schadenfreudern, schadenbefreuden? Any takers?