Monday, 11 May 2009

The power of good deeds / knutterfrei...

Good deeds matter. But kind-heartedness doesn’t pay off – today I was struck by the straightforward request of hangover-struggling cadger… (the ending went astray…)

Knutterfrei = “crease-resistant” in English and “niemnący (się)” in Polish. Such strange word came out during last final exam in German held in my school. Students weren’t expected to understand it, but to use (= know it actively) it in a letter of complaint. I’m just looking forward to getting a similar task on my examination. Hopefully the examiners will hit upon something less complicated – ripped stain-proof tablecloths, scratched lacquer on two-burner primus stove, defective hole-punchers or improper type of dispatched semi-conductors.
If I had been to translate “niemnący” before today, I’d have converted it into self-invented something like “incrumpleable” or “uncreaseable”. Now it’s much less probable that I’ll make a fool of myself and I know one more terrifically useful word. And after all I see the difference between “crease” and “crumple”, although it’s still rather vague…

Take care!

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