Cool German - Play up/Play down

These contain some examples of vulgar language.

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Bombastisch! (**) Bombastic!

Genial! (*) A stroke of a genius!

Gigantisch! (*) Gigantic!

Geil! (s) Great, awesome, wicked. Lit. Randy, horny. These days it's used to express that something is great, cool or nice although a generation ago it was only used with its original sexual meaning.

Mega + any adjective or noun (**) Commonly used to emphasize something, either good or bad.
Das ist megageil (s) That's really cool.
Das ist megaschlecht (s) That's really bad.
Das ist ein Megaerfolg (s) That's a great success.

Hammermäßig! (**) That rocks. Lit. That hits like a hammer.
Dieses Auto ist der Hammer (**) This car rocks.
Die Party war der Hammer (**) The party rocked.

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Den Ball flach halten (s) Don't exaggerate, calm down. Lit. Keep the ball down.

Das ist unterirdisch (s) That's really bad. Lit. That's below the surface of the earth.

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