saubillig/schweineteuer

Pigs are big in the German diet - after all, the country boasts 1,200 types of sausage. So it is probably not surprising to learn that the animals loom large in the German language, too. Different words for pig can be used as a prefix to give emphasis, as is the case with a pair of polar opposites: "saubillig," ("sow-cheap," meaning "dirt cheap,") and "schweineteuer" ("swine expensive," aka, "costing an arm and a leg.") In fact, the prefixes have nothing to do with pigs or thier specific attributes; here they just mean "very." Both words can be used to illustrate Germans' complaints that groceries were cheaper before the euro. Back when they had the mark, they say, pork chops were "saubillig," but today they’re "schweineteuer." Either way, they're likely to be "saulecker" ("sow-delicious,)" which we translate as "Yum!"