Wicked German (Wicked Travel Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "German pronunciation is every bit as precise as a Hasselblad camera or a Glock automatic pistol..." (more)
Key Phrases: Herr Doktor, Sagen Sie, East German

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Learn to distinguish between Schinkenwurst, Mettwurst, Fleischwurst, Blutwurst, Pinkelwurst, Touristenwurst, Jagerwurst,and Zungenwurst. Critique Bavarian castles, torment skinheads, and discover all the accepted excuses for backing out of a polka evening. It's the new, unified Germany, and to help all travelers and students gain a foothold in Deutschland comes wicked german. It's on the Mark. 85,000 copies inprint.

Together the Wicked collection, 933,000 copies in print.

Language Notes

Text: English, German

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Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 10, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563052946
• ISBN-13: 978-1563052941
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 3.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #28 in	Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > German
  #44 in	Books > Travel > Europe > Germany
  #60 in	Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > German > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny little German book, January 2, 2004

By	magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

A very funny little German book that is as much a satire on the language, Germans, and travel in general as a phrasebook. Although only 64 pages, it packs a lot of humor and entertainment into this small package. Some of the phrases are truly funny. To give you a sampling of some of what's in the book, here are a few examples. In the chapter on Clothing I found "Diese Hosen sind einfach ummerfend." (These lederhosen are hilarious!) In the chapter on dealing with policemen, there was "Ich muste sie naturlich von der Strasse rammen." (I had to run him off the road, of course). In the chapter on "Words of Love and Pastry," there was "Ich mochte in Ihren Gugelhopf beissen." (I want to bite your Bundt cake). And in the chapter, "The Wurst of the Wurst," there was "Habe ich erwahnt das ich mich entschlossen Vegetarier su weiden?" (Did I mention that I've decided to become a vegetarian?).

The book is devided into 38 sections of a page or two, each with its own funny phrases. The book is mostly phrases and sentences, but there are a few funny words highlighted too. There is also a humorous two-page "fractured" history and timeline of beer, which has entries like, "1516--The German Purity Law is written ro protect the quality of beer. Anyone caught drinking a Coors is spanked to death by a 300-pound barmaid." Even the chapter and section titles are humorous, such as "Surviving German Romanticism," and "Grimm Tales of the Black Forest."

If you liked this book I can also recommend "Scheisse!: The Real German You Were Never Taught in School," by Gertrude Besserwisser, which covers all the funniest and most outrageous German curses, epithets, slang, and other phrases of dubious parentage and gentility. For example, I learned that saying "BMW" doesn't just mean the name of a car, it also refers to a woman who is not especially well-endowed, since it's from "Brett mit Warzen," or "a board with warts." But a lot of the book wouldn't be repeatable here, so I'll have to leave it at that and urge you to get the book yourself if you're interested.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, but nothing more, July 21, 2005

By	Jeff in Philly "Jeff in Philly" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

I hate to be a stick-in-the-mud here, but this book is really NOT a "phrase book" and should not be listed in the language reference section. As an American who lived in Germany for three years and suffered the slings and separable-prefix arrows of learning this fascinating, complex language, I appreciate the humor at the heart of this book. But the examples here are really for people who understand that this is just humor at the expense of German and Germans -- someone buying this book thinking that it will allow you to be witty in German should think again -- You'll regret using any of the conversation examples here on a native speaker.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious for the German speaker, educational for others!, February 8, 1998

By A Customer

This book is well worth its very small price. The author knows his stuff and provides excellent insight into the German mindset (and some only-slightly-exaggerated German history) while brutally poking fun at it.

I'd heartily recommend this book for any German speaker who has been to Germany for even the briefest of visits. It made me want to go back! Non-German speaking travelers could definitely profit from learning these key phrases.