German language help?

Ed Huntress fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I have only a smattering of German from back in the 80s, but "Putz" means "Put".

So I'd believe that their equipment is designed to "put" stuff... lift it, move it, place it...

LLoyd

Aha! That would make sense. Their primary product is concrete pumps.

And it's a big relief. I was afraid they were "masters of idiots."

Thanks, Lloyd.

I believe that it is mortar master. They make concrete pumps.

Ignoramus2551 fired this volley in news:jLOdnQNhEv7pSMXSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Quite possible, though I don't have that nuance in what German I learned.

Like English, Germans tend to use one word for more than one meaning.

It might mean mortar, too.

More interesting, though, is what Germans do when they don't _have_ a word to describe something. Then they just string other ones together into a single noun that can be dozens of syllables long!

LLoyd

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in news:XnsA01067FB2E6CElloydspmindspringcom@216.168.3.70:

It means nothing of the sort. The German word meaning "to put" is "stecken".

"Putzen" means "to clean".

Ed Huntress wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

It would make more sense if it were correct.

I'm afraid your understanding of its meaning isn't correct either. "Putz", as a noun, in German means a small child; it can also mean dirty clothes (see a connection there?). In Yiddish, it's vulgar slang for "penis".

noun, in German

In Yiddish, it's

And those concrete pumpers have one very long "penis". My brother and I have always laughed at those trucks. The company must have known that some americans would think of that name as meaning "Master Penis".

From my vast experience of ordering beers in East, West and United German, I summon the powers of Google and..

So, when you plaster something you are putzing around putting something pretty much purely decorative on there, which could represent a common origin with the slang 'putz' term.

a noun, in German

In Yiddish, it's

Well, yeah, what the heck? Most of us are more likely to know the vulgar definitions of anything. d8-)

English dictionaries also say "idiot." Maybe they mean us, for not knowing what it means.

And here I thought maybe they were bragging about their sexual prowess.

This.

E.g Putzfrau is a cleaning woman. Putzmeister suggests "cleaning master". (NB "Meister Proper" is German Mr. Clean).

Michael Koblic, Campbell River, BC

In 1963, the name of KS-Maschinenbau was replaced by Putzmeister, which means "master of mortar" in German. Putzmeister has never left the concrete machinery industry ever since. Putzmeister's 'Elephant' concrete pump gained its popularity in early 70s, and has gradually made the company one of the global leaders in terms of market share, geographic coverage, technology advance as well as product range in concrete pumping industry.

as a noun, in German

there?). In Yiddish, it's

Well, now, think about it, in English one subtle gradation of "idiot" is "d*****ad". Yiddish just shortens it to "dick".

One meaning of putz is ornament, as in a Christmas decoration.