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Re: Need German equivalent of "crank"
Posted:
Nov 27, 2006 12:44 PM
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On Mon, 27 Nov 2006, sttscitrans@tesco.net wrote:
> "Howard Hughes genial, verschroben, paranoid, Komstrukteur
> von Flugzeugen". "Verschroben" or "Verschrobenheit" might
> suggest the obsessiveness and eccentricity required to be a
> sci.math crank.
For "verschroben", Leo gives "addlebrained, addlepated, crotchety,
eccentric, queer, quirky". As English is not my native language, I
cannot say which of these matches typical features of a crank. There
is no German noun for a person who is "verschroben".
For "crank", Leo gives among others "Sonderling" (a person with no sound
social contacts) and "Spinner" (a person inventing odd tales). I would
guess "crank" is more specific but "Spinner" might be the best
translation.
When my brother did his job as crank answerer in a math faculty - long
before the advent of the internet - he called his clients according to
their main activities "Winkeldreiteiler und Fermatbeweiser".
--
Helmut Richter
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