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Zwickmuehle

Learn a funny, quirky German word each week with DW's Word of the Week feature. This week: Zwickmuehle.

https://p.dw.com/p/RlNY
Image: dpa
You're late for an important job interview. If you take the bus, you'll be at least half an hour late. But if you take a taxi, you'll have to spend the last of the cash in your wallet. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place and there's no good solution. You're in a "Zwickmuehle." Though the word "Zwickmuehle" contains the German word for mill ("Muehle"), it has little to do with the grinders, though getting stuck in one could in fact constitute a "Zwickmuehle." Indeed, the world's most famous mill, namely the Moulin Rouge in Paris, has most certainly been the cause of more than one "Zwickmuehle." Rather, the expression comes from a strategic board game for two players called "Muehlespiel." Similar to check-mate in chess, when one player plays the "Zwickmuehle" move combination, the other is trapped. If only everything in life were just a game.