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https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-scare-when-will-hamsterkauf-become-an-english-word/a-52635400>
"The coronavirus scare has seen quite a number of Germans resorting to
panic buying, although the chances of them really needing a lot of stuff
at home over a longer period are rather slim. But that's a different story.
The point is that the Germans have a rather nice and descriptive word
for hoarding stuff. They call the activity of panic buying hamsterkauf,
with the corresponding verb being hamstern.
It's not too hard for people from the English-speaking world to guess
its meaning. After all, they share the same word for the rodent that's
used as a descriptive term in German to indicate that if you do a
hamsterkauf, you want a lot of stuff — just as hamsters are eager to
store as much food as they can in their cheeks. You never know, it could
come in handy."
Via Christoph S, who wrote "Do you have similar words for panic buying
in other languages?" and Muse.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
