We've all been there: You promise your nearest and dearest you'll be back home at a reasonable hour after a "quick" drink with friends or work colleagues. Then after the second, third or fourth beer you lose track of time - or simply don't care anymore. As you drunkenly stumble home, your guilty conscience kicks in, and the prospect of a tongue-lashing as you falter through the front door becomes real. Well, next time think about taking some Drachenfutter as a form of damage limitation. Drache simply translates as dragon in German, while Futter is animal feed. You can probably work out the rest! Or take at look at the somewhat gender-biased German definition for Drachenfutter: Chocolates, brought by a man for his wife when coming home too late, and too drunk, from the pub. Easy.

Author: Helen Whittle
Editor: Kate Bowen