Grief Bacon

What do grief bacon, a whistling pig, and a train station have in common?

They are all things Germans say when they mean something else entirely.

Kummerspeck is the weight you gain after a breakup. Grief bacon. There is a word for it, and it is not a kind one.

This book collects 40 German words, idioms and false friends, and explains what they actually mean, where they came from, and why German decided that "I only understand train station" was a reasonable way to say "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Inside you will meet:

• The insulted liver sausage, and the sulking adults who impersonate one
• Your inner pig-dog, the small lazy animal responsible for every skipped workout
• Gift, which is not a present. Run.
• Handy, which is not helpful. It is your phone.
• The dancing bear, the laughing chickens, and the pig that whistles
• A comma so important it decides whether Grandma is eating or being eaten

Every entry gives you the phrase, how to say it, what it literally means, what it really means, and a short piece on where it came from. There are illustrations. There is a quiz. There is a page at the back for the ones you collect yourself.

For language learners, travelers, expats, anyone with a German colleague they do not entirely understand, and anyone who enjoys watching a language get gloriously lost in translation.

You will not become fluent. You will become funnier.