Backpfeifengesicht: “face that’s begging to be slapped”. How they’d laughed, learning that, still high on the promise of a new life abroad, bonding over the oddities of the German language. Now, as he corrects her pronunciation for the fifty-millionth time, she feels the full force of the word. Backpfeifengesicht, indeed.

Jennifer Busch rather enjoys the oddities of the German language. Her other favourite German insults include Warmduscher (someone who takes warm showers), Schattenparker (someone who parks in the shade); and the indulgently overlength Handschuhschneeballwerfer (someone who puts gloves on before throwing snowballs).