# A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 14, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537 "2020-11-14T00:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 405
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8087 "2022-12-13T22:17:24Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The current Republican voters can identify with him. They are so Pro-Life that they voted for a man who actually participated in an abortion over a Preacher. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8088 "2022-12-13T22:42:08Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > “Busuntergeworfen” “thrown under the bus”. That is awesome. And thank you!! ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8089 "2022-12-13T22:44:28Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > abortion Abortions plural, not including the ones where he failed and had even more children out of wedlock ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8090 "2022-12-13T22:48:38Z")
I am a bit tired (euphemism-trigger-warning!) after watching the semifinal ARG-CRO, so I will just mention that: a) _vorgeworfen_, from _vorwerfen_, means reproach, accuse, allege. Yeah, those damned propositional constructions in German don’t mean what they seem. Neither do they in English, for whataboutism’s sake! ( → look at, look for, look out, look over… Yes, I know there are better examples, but see my first sentence.) _Vor dem Zug geworfen_ is more like it: a phrase, not a word. b) _unterwerfen_ means subjugate, submit, subdue. Do that to a bus! Or, even worse, get that done by a bus to you! Yikes! c) nice try! ETA: > [@Aspenglow](#): > > > [@Kimstu](#): > > > > “Busuntergeworfen” “thrown under the bus”. > > That is awesome. And thank you!! Are _you_ participating in a hijack? YESSS! Strike! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8091 "2022-12-13T23:00:45Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > c) nice try! Thanks! 😃 So “Busuntergeworfen” would convey something more like “bus-subjugated” or “bus-crushed” rather than “bus-beneath-thrown”? Okay, I think that still works acceptably. Especially as an instance of what might be called a “pseudo-teutonism”, analogous to [“Denglisch” pseudo-anglicisms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denglisch#Pseudo-anglicisms) in modern German such as “Basecap” for “baseball cap”. Deal? (if we as self-appointed ambassadors of our respective languages can assert the authority to make such a deal? 😜 ) > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Are _you_ participating in a hijack? Now now, I specifically reopened this discussion here so it wouldn’t make Aspenglow mad by continuing a hijack! I think that the fact that Trump-enablers are so reliably unter den Bus geworfen by Trump that we need a proper German term of art to describe the phenomenon is quite schadenfreudisch enough to justify inclusion in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8092 "2022-12-13T23:04:30Z")
I rather like buscrushed. The wheels on the bus go crush, crush, crush… Is there a term for bus sacrifice? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8093 "2022-12-13T23:04:44Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Are _you_ participating in a hijack? YESSS! Strike! 😀 Hijacks are allowed in the Pit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8094 "2022-12-13T23:05:01Z")
Deal! And the best pseudo-anglicism may be Handy. In German it means smartphone. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8095 "2022-12-13T23:06:43Z")
Still I enjoy it. A cat may laugh at a queen. In the Pit, at least. And I hope you know I mean well. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8096 "2022-12-13T23:06:48Z")
And a very useful and descriptive term it is, too! (“Handy”, I mean.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8097 "2022-12-13T23:13:12Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > And I hope you know I mean well. Of course I do! Believe it or not, I love a good hijack as much as the next person. (Just not in P&E or GD.) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8098 "2022-12-13T23:13:30Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Is there a term for bus sacrifice? _Busopfer_. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8099 "2022-12-13T23:36:22Z")
That could work… the throwee is being sacrificed to the bus in the stead of the thrower. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8100 "2022-12-14T00:00:54Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Not wanting to reignite the ire of the Mods in the Mar-a-Lago thread, but not willing to relinquish the challenge of [finding an appropriate German term for the inevitable Trump-enabler fate of being “thrown under the bus”,](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-08-08-22/969329/4320) I figured that this would be the best place to remark: I’m partial to “schadengreyhound”. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8101 "2022-12-14T00:06:55Z")
Schadengrauenhund ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8102 "2022-12-14T01:02:07Z")
…and even if derails _weren’t_ allowed in the pit, this one’d still be ok because it’s about a big-ass German word, and there’s, like, a big-ass German word in the OP title, as well. So totally legit 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8103 "2022-12-14T02:51:05Z")
Another loss for the greatest fraudulent ex-President of all time!!! > **[PolitiFact - Lie of the Year 2022: Putin’s lies to wage war and conceal...](https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/dec/13/lie-of-the-year-2022-putins-lies-to-wage-war-and-o/)** > > It was 6 a.m. Moscow time on Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his "special military operatio He will light up Twuth with the outrage, demand he be reinstated as Liar of All Time, no voting. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8104 "2022-12-14T12:02:16Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > And the best pseudo-anglicism may be Handy. In German it means smartphone. Just yesterday, when a robocall interrupted my enjoyment of a podcast on my phone, I realized (duh) that we almost never use our smartphones as phones anymore. They are a thousand things, but “phone” ain’t one of them (or near enough). “Handy” expresses what they are SO much better: a device that fits in your hand, that is handy (useful) in so many ways. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8105 "2022-12-14T12:04:48Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > there’s, like, a big-ass German word in the OP title And a small-fingered one, as well (etymologically, _Drumpf_, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537/8106 "2022-12-14T12:39:12Z")
It goes back to the time when phones were not smart yet, the old simple Nokias were already called Handys. And the funny thing is that many Germans think it is the right English word! And yes, it is a very apt term indeed. Now back to the important things: a single word for throwing somebody under the bus, preferably in German. For starters, it does not necessarily have to be German, English has for the effect of the throw the nice concept of roadkill, someone could coin something fitting starting from there. But German, OK. That is a hard nut to crack, so I’ll start with some loose ideas, like in brainstorming, maybe @Treppenwitz will follow with better ideas from where I leave it. First idea: you say _throwing_ and came with the German equivalent _werfen_. That is natural, but as a professional interpreter I tell you there are better ways to proceed. And better words. I start with _schubsen_, which means to push, like when wanting to jump a line or what bullies do when starting harrasment. It’s good to use a word that has negative connotations when coining a new disparaging term. Keep that in the RAM and proceed to the Second idea: There was a time when Germany had only two TV channels, and when one of those showed a football match, a film or something that everybody watched the streets went empty. They still call that a _Straßenfeger_ (literally: a street-clean-sweeper) despite the phenomenon does not really happen anymore. I want to convey the idea that tanTrump does this (insert the word we are searching here) to everybody, so the _Feger_ goes into RAM too. Third idea: Every now and then, thank Goddot seldom, people push others into the subway tracks when the U-Bahn is approaching. The tabloids call them _U-Bahn-Schubser_ (and a very timely resurfacing of the _schubsen_ that is!). Now that is really despicable and reprehensive. As the victims are standing on the platform, they are also called _Bahnsteigschubser_ (as _Bahnsteig_ = platform). So I suggest to start our brainstorming session with _Bahnsteigfeger_: platform sweeper. People who push everybody on the platform in front of the incoming subway train. I am not completely satisfied, but it is a start. What do you think? ETA: Reading my post again it seems to me that the last step may have been a step too far. _Bahnsteigschubser_ or platform pusher are already good (or bad) enough, the -_feger_ does not make the meaning clearer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537.md?page=404) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-1/925537.md?page=406)