klüngeln

German

Etymology

From Central Franconian klöngele. Derived from the noun at hand in Klüngel, originally meaning “ball of wool”.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

1. (western Germany) to be slow; to delay; to dawdle

   Jetzt klüngel nicht so! Wir kommen schon wieder zu spät.

   Now don’t be so slow! We’ll be late again.

2. (western Germany) to chatter (often in confidence, or seemingly so)

   Ihr beiden sitzt da den ganzen Tag und klüngelt wie kleine Mädchen.

   You two just sit there all day chatting like little girls.

3. to engage in nepotism and corruption

   Geklüngelt wird ja überall. — There is [some degree of] nepotism everywhere.

Usage notes

• The verb has become supra-regionally intelligible in sense 3, but within the region senses 1 and 2 are actually much more common.

Synonyms

• (dawdle): trödeln

Derived terms

• rumklüngeln