If you're happier being a couch potato or are feeling just plain lazy, you could be accused of being a Faulpelz. No, it's not a compliment. Faulpelz is a colloquial term used to describe very lazy people - similar to "lazybones" in English. Faul means lazy in German, while Pelz refers to animal fur. Faulpelz is related to the term Bärenhäuter which was used in the pejorative sense to describe soldiers who preferred to lie on their bear skins rather than go into battle.

Author: Helen Whittle
Editor: Kate Bowen