Depp

What it means

1. 1.

   A fool, a clot. The standard southern German, Austrian and Swiss word for an idiot, and much milder than its northern equivalents — close friends call each other Depp with real affection.

2. 2.

   The adjective deppert ('daft') extends to situations: a depperte Regel is a stupid rule.

Examples with translations

• Du bist scho a Depp.

  You really are a daft one.

  Note: Bavarian pronunciation, and said fondly more often than not.

• So a depperte Idee.

  What a daft idea.

Where it comes from

A Bavarian-Austrian dialect word related to täppisch, 'clumsy, fumbling', from the same root as tappen, to grope about. Nothing to do with the English surname, despite a persistent joke to the contrary.

Other forms

Similar terms:

Dodel, Trottel