Morgen means "morning," and a Muffel is a sullen person, a grouch. Put together, they signify a person who habitually wakes up in a bad mood and needs some time before being able to face the world with an even temper.
The late German chancellor Willy Brandt was, according to his wife Ruth, a Morgenmuffel. And recently, I came across a study dealing with the important question why (German) teenagers are such Morgenmuffel (the plural is the same as the singular).
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4 comments:
I think I am definitely a Morgenmuffel, and I know lots of people like me, so I am wondering why I can't think of a comparable English word to describe people like me, who prefer not to speak or see anyone else until they have had their second cup of coffee.
Is there a word like "morning grouch"? It would come very close to the meaning of the German term.
Anyway, you are in good company. There is not only Chancellor Brandt, but also the composer Gustav Mahler, who got up at 6 and disappeared in a cottage to work bec. he could not stand seeing people in the morning.
I don't think there is an established phrase like "morning grouch," which doesn't have a the nice ring, anyway, of Morgenmuffel.
Mahler and I would have gotten along perfectly. I wonder if Alma was a Morgenmuffel too.
If one is not such a creature, it can be hard to be married to someone who can barely stand the sight of another human being until he or she has drunk at least two cups of coffee.
@Heika: I wouldn't know--thank God!
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