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I love German words. Disappointingly this article skirts around the obvious English translation: “ass-in-seat.”

by PacifyFish 8y ago

epx 8y ago
In pt_BR we sometimes call this kind of people "iron ass" (cu-de-ferro), particularly in the context of school.
- lhorie 8y ago
  It'd be pretty rare to say "cu-de-ferro" unless you were really trying to be contemptuous. Normally, people say "CDF", which AFAIK originally stood for "cabeça-de-ferro" (iron head). It's a pejorative slang for someone who gets high marks in school. I've heard that "cu-de-ferro" is a homophobic misinterpretation of CDF ("cu" is a slang for anus, and "cu-de-ferro" is supposed to imply you had sex with the teacher to get said high mark). Never heard of it being used in the ass-in-seat sense.
mc32 8y ago
Or a bit better rolling off the tongue “Seat-Meat”. [Edit] Although to add, in English "Seat-Meat" is more a pejorative whereas in German it's a compliment saying you have _the_ Meat which can endure the implied demands and staying power it takes to handle that seat.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  That's also a much more literal translation of the phrase. Google Translate suggests it means seated meat. Edit: Ah, yes, that's what's missing. The implication of muscle in your rear for getting the job done.
  - posterboy 8y ago
    If you wanted to be literal it would be sit flesh, perhaps sitting muscles, like working memory and in the broadest sense it might mean composure, patience, dedication in a restricted sense, or in a literally broad sense it means the buttox. Probably not a fat ass gotten from sitting around and neglecting exercise but eating like a weight lifter, although that was my first association in context ... compare "Arsch in der Hose haben" - "to be a hard/bad-ass", referring to courage, abillity and composure more generally, not too different from the massive balls meme. Great story bbc, very tabloid vulgar after all.
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      Flesh is the nearest English cognate, but meat is the correct translation. (I'm less clear on sitz, if it should be seat or if it is about sitting.) But I'm thinking maybe the idea is along the lines of "put your glutes into it" or "do you have the glutes for that?"
AstralStorm 8y ago
English has a slightly more general word. It is "grit". The ability to work continuously and without being distracted. Perseverance of effort. Ability to execute on a long term goal efficiently.
- _nalply 8y ago
  Sitzfleisch doesn't mean spending effort but more staying power.
- ThePadawan 8y ago
  I would also consider "grit" to be a very appreciative term. "Sitzfleisch" I would consider more neutral, a person's property rather than a virtue.
Zanni 8y ago
Bryce Courtenay (author of The Power of One) calls this "bum-glue."
- gadders 8y ago
  That's a great book.

I love German words. Disappointingly this article skirts around the obvious English translation: “ass-in-seat.”

epx 8y ago

In pt_BR we sometimes call this kind of people "iron ass" (cu-de-ferro), particularly in the context of school.

lhorie 8y ago
It'd be pretty rare to say "cu-de-ferro" unless you were really trying to be contemptuous. Normally, people say "CDF", which AFAIK originally stood for "cabeça-de-ferro" (iron head). It's a pejorative slang for someone who gets high marks in school. I've heard that "cu-de-ferro" is a homophobic misinterpretation of CDF ("cu" is a slang for anus, and "cu-de-ferro" is supposed to imply you had sex with the teacher to get said high mark). Never heard of it being used in the ass-in-seat sense.

mc32 8y ago

Or a bit better rolling off the tongue “Seat-Meat”. [Edit] Although to add, in English "Seat-Meat" is more a pejorative whereas in German it's a compliment saying you have _the_ Meat which can endure the implied demands and staying power it takes to handle that seat.

DoreenMichele 8y ago
That's also a much more literal translation of the phrase. Google Translate suggests it means seated meat. Edit: Ah, yes, that's what's missing. The implication of muscle in your rear for getting the job done.
- posterboy 8y ago
  If you wanted to be literal it would be sit flesh, perhaps sitting muscles, like working memory and in the broadest sense it might mean composure, patience, dedication in a restricted sense, or in a literally broad sense it means the buttox. Probably not a fat ass gotten from sitting around and neglecting exercise but eating like a weight lifter, although that was my first association in context ... compare "Arsch in der Hose haben" - "to be a hard/bad-ass", referring to courage, abillity and composure more generally, not too different from the massive balls meme. Great story bbc, very tabloid vulgar after all.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    Flesh is the nearest English cognate, but meat is the correct translation. (I'm less clear on sitz, if it should be seat or if it is about sitting.) But I'm thinking maybe the idea is along the lines of "put your glutes into it" or "do you have the glutes for that?"

AstralStorm 8y ago

English has a slightly more general word. It is "grit". The ability to work continuously and without being distracted. Perseverance of effort. Ability to execute on a long term goal efficiently.

_nalply 8y ago
Sitzfleisch doesn't mean spending effort but more staying power.
ThePadawan 8y ago
I would also consider "grit" to be a very appreciative term. "Sitzfleisch" I would consider more neutral, a person's property rather than a virtue.

Zanni 8y ago

Bryce Courtenay (author of The Power of One) calls this "bum-glue."

gadders 8y ago
That's a great book.