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Word of the Week

Greg WıserMarch 26, 2013

Get a move on...

https://p.dw.com/p/183xA
A sleeping man wearing a sleeping cap
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

If you know a bit of German, you may get the wrong idea about the meaning of Schlafmütze - which, translated literally, is a sleeping cap. When not used in reference to someone's choice of headware, the term means a person who's doing something just a bit too slow for your taste or who's even a bit absent-minded. Perhaps the person in front of you at a stoplight is stalling when it's time to go, or your birthday completely slipped a friend's mind. Clear cases of a Schlafmütze in action - or inaction, as it were.