If you’d rather avoid conflict, maybe it’s best not to look directly at that face. But regardless of how, why or where that open palm of yours lands, you can be sure that the receiver had a Backpfeifengesicht that tempted you to make the move. A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir Hardcover Jby Colin Jost (Author) 5,276 ratings Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs See all formats and editions Kindle 13.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 22.97 Other new, used and collectible from 1. The origin of the word is unclear, but Backpfeife was used in northern Germany throughout the 19th century and comes from Backe (“cheek”) and Pfeife (“whistle”) – and basically means “a slap that whooshes/whistles along the cheek”Ī similar word is Ohrfeige (“ear slap”), which stems from the Middle Ages and is often used as a synonym for Backpfeife. The lyrics revolve around a person who has a stupid look on his face – a look that nauseates the songwriter. To you, that face is is need of a fist – and you’re thinking about giving it one.Ī well-known German punk band, Die Ärzte, titled one of their songs “Backpfeifengesicht”. Or maybe it’s someone whose face you just can’t stand, for whatever reason. Maybe it’s a person who tells insulting jokes that make others cry. Maybe it’s someone with a stupid grin that you’d like to wipe off that face. We’re sure you know someone with a Backpfeifengesicht – someone you just can’t get through to without a good punch or a slap. The word Backpfeifengesicht therefore means something along the lines of “a face that’s begging to be slapped” – or punched.

The word Backpfeife means “punch/slap” (on the cheek/face) and Gesicht means “face”. This is one of those strange words that’s uniquely German with no English equivalent.

Do you ever look at someone and feel like punching them in the face? Well, Germans have a unique word for that face: a Backpfeifengesicht - a face that’s badly in need of a fist.

You have a very punchable face