katzenjammer

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The Word of the Day for January 30 is: 

katzenjammer   \KAT-zun-jam-er\   noun
    *1 : hangover 
     2 : distress 
     3 : a discordant clamor

Example sentence:
     The morning after the wedding, Pamela woke up with a blinding katzenjammer.

Did you know?
     Have you ever heard a cat wailing and felt that you could relate? 
Apparently some hungover German speakers once did. "Katzenjammer" comes from 
the German "Katze" (meaning "cat") and "Jammer" (meaning "distress"). English 
speakers borrowed the word for their hangovers (and other distressful inner 
states) in the 19th century and eventually applied it to outer commotion as 
well. The word isn't as popular in English today as it was around the mid-20th 
century, but it's well-known to many because of the "Katzenjammer Kids," a 
long-running comic strip featuring the incorrigibly mischievous twins Hans and 
Fritz. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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