In article , huntres23
@optonline.net says...

On Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:29:27 -0800, wrote:

On Thu, 8 Mar 2012 19:06:38 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:

Ed Huntress wrote in
m:

On Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:13:15 -0600, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Ed Huntress fired this volley in
m:

Now, I thought I knew what a "putz" was, and I know what "meister"
means, but I can't believe the two of them were put together to form a
company name.

I hope that someone familiar with German can explain this.


I have only a smattering of German from back in the 80s, but "Putz" means
"Put".

So I'd believe that their equipment is designed to "put" stuff... lift
it, move it, place it...

LLoyd

Aha! That would make sense. Their primary product is concrete pumps.

It would make more sense if it were correct.

And it's a big relief. I was afraid they were "masters of idiots." g

I'm afraid your understanding of its meaning isn't correct either. "Putz", as a noun, in German
means a small child; it can also mean dirty clothes (see a connection there?). In Yiddish, it's
vulgar slang for "penis".
And those concrete pumpers have one very long "penis". My brother and
I have always laughed at those trucks. The company must have known
that some americans would think of that name as meaning "Master
Penis".

Well, yeah, what the heck? Most of us are more likely to know the
vulgar definitions of anything. d8-)

English dictionaries also say "idiot." Maybe they mean us, for not
knowing what it means.

Well, now, think about it, in English one subtle gradation of "idiot" is
"dickhead". Yiddish just shortens it to "dick".