Embarrassing cursing

Embarrassing cursing

Most people are very comfortable cursing in their native language, because it is (for so many of us) something we do every day. In recent years, certain English curse words have become very popular also in other languages, most notably the four-letter word starting with an F (yes, an F, see here).

However, cursing in another language can be quite hard, and if you do it wrong
may lead to very embarrassing moments. One particular example is a TV interview I happened to watch after a sports event last winter. A well-known Austrian skier was quite upset about the result of the race, and used the phrase

I’m pissed on!

The correct phrase would have been

I’m pissed off!

The first statement has quite a different meaning! The reason for this embarrassing mistake was most likely a false friend: in German, the corresponding expression would be

Ich bin angepisst!

Of course I do not want to encourage cursing with this post. However, if you absolutely have to curse, make sure you do it right, especially if you are on TV!

Martin

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