Funny German Words For Another Person Quiz

Answer: Three loafs of cheese stacked atop each other

Literally, "Three-cheese-high", this saying has been in use since the 18th century. The etymology is not quite clear. It might be that loafs of cheese were indeed used to indicate the height of a child, but others presume it might come from the French "caisse", meaning "crate" or "box", so the child would have been "three crates high".
I've only ever heard it used for boys, although you could probably use it for a girl as well. However, my primary association with the term is always a cheeky little five-year-old boy with red hair and freckles and a charming laugh.

Answer: Brazen, arrogant, possibly whiny

My dictionary tells me that the closest English equivalent is "snotty-nosed brat". Literally, it would mean "a spoon(ful) of snot"; however, the "Löffel" here derives not from "spoon" (which is indeed "Löffel" in German) but from "Laffe" (an old-fashioned word for a flashy, arrogant person).
"Rotzlöffel" is not the nicest thing to call someone, and it is mainly used for children and young people.

Answer: Berlin

"Flitzpiepe" is impossible to translate literally, as it plays on sound rather than meaning. It contains the components "flitzen", meaning "to dash" or "to whiz", and "piepen", meaning "to beep" and featuring in the idiom "Bei dir piept's ja" ("There's a beeping in your head", meaning "Are you out of your mind?").

Although it can be heard in the whole north of Germany, it is generally regarded as being a true Berlin word, as attested by a website called "Berlin Slang Dictionary". It is not too bad a word.

A friend would not be offended if called a "Flitzpiepe"; it sounds too funny to be genuinely offensive.

Answer: Buffalo

"Oachan", or "eichen", means "made of oak" and is used in Bavaria for a stubborn person. "Moosbüffe" is used in Bavaria for a clumsy, not-too-bright person.
The story why I picked this is the following: My mother used to work in the Bavarian State Archive, and one of her colleagues was a genuine Bavarian, famous for his swearing. One day, that colleague was so fed up with a client that he ended up calling him an "oachana Moosbüffe". That client, a local politician, promptly filed a complaint with the mayor of Munich. A few days later, the mayor showed up in the archive, but instead of telling my mother's colleague off, he congratulated him on that inventive swear word and admitted that the letter of complaint made him laugh so hard he wanted to meet the offender in person...
That's Munich for you.

Answer: Halt it

"Bremse" means "brake". The evolution of new terms of abuse, on the other hand, has never been speedier. This particular one would be used to imply that the person in question is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Answer: Flight attendant

Literally, it means "a woman who pushes juice around", and it originally referred to the flight attendants' secondary duty to push the cart through the aisle and give out drinks during the flight. It has since become more pejorative and should not be used in a polite context.

Answer: Wood

"Holzkopf", or "wooden head", would be used for a person who is either stubborn or stupid. Add a diminutive form, and it becomes a term of endearment (sort of): If someone dear to you has done something moderately stupid, you might affectionately dub them "Holzköpfchen".

Answer: Prussia

Historically, there has been a lot of tension between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Bavaria, which is why "Prussians" came to stand for intruders of all sorts. Nowadays, Bavarians use it for everyone who is not from Bavaria, often humorously, regardless of whether the "Preiß" in question is German or not.
To Bavarians' great dismay, the term is also used in Luxembourg (spelled "Prais" or "Praiss") for Germans in general - including Bavarians.

Answer: Fidgety Philip

The book was very popular in the last century but has been viewed with a more and more critical eye recently due to the very authoritarian ideology it promotes. Even though the stories are exaggerated and full of black humor, they might scare a young child rather than entertain them.
"Zappelphilipp", or "Fidgety Philip", however, is still used by parents all over Germany to describe their child when they cannot sit still and keep, well, fidgeting. Including my own dad.

Answer: A celebrity

"Skandalnudel" is used for a celebrity who features frequently in the yellow press due to their tendency to get involved in scandals (or what the press thinks is scandalous).
"Nudel" is German for "noodle", so you get a "scandal-noodle". It can be used humorously or good-naturedly and is not necessarily pejorative.