“The unauthorized are not authorized to commit mischief”
Not sure what this post is doing in this subreddit though.
What the fug?
Why are people up-voting this? I’m confused.
It only has one exclamation point. Pre-translating I expect those signs to just sound bossy but not say anything important. :p
Killing the joke with this, but it might help one or the other
The core word is “[fug](https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Fug)” which is an old fashioned word no one uses in German anymore and means something like “sense”. The negation Unfug is still commonly used today for nonsense, just like the word “befugt” (I’m allowed) and it’s negation “unbefugt” (I’m not allowed) which both are typically used in official language like laws and signs.
This sign pokes fun at officialdom which uses such language (eg “Zutritt für Unbefugte verboten”) using the word stem in different variations and Germany’s love for using signs to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do.
It’s similar to the scene in Idiocracy where the main character asks the future police what the intelligence test is for and he gives this “official speak” which he clearly doesn’t have the skill to use correctly.
5 comments
“The unauthorized are not authorized to commit mischief”
Not sure what this post is doing in this subreddit though.
What the fug?
Why are people up-voting this? I’m confused.
It only has one exclamation point. Pre-translating I expect those signs to just sound bossy but not say anything important. :p
Killing the joke with this, but it might help one or the other
The core word is “[fug](https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Fug)” which is an old fashioned word no one uses in German anymore and means something like “sense”. The negation Unfug is still commonly used today for nonsense, just like the word “befugt” (I’m allowed) and it’s negation “unbefugt” (I’m not allowed) which both are typically used in official language like laws and signs.
This sign pokes fun at officialdom which uses such language (eg “Zutritt für Unbefugte verboten”) using the word stem in different variations and Germany’s love for using signs to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do.
It’s similar to the scene in Idiocracy where the main character asks the future police what the intelligence test is for and he gives this “official speak” which he clearly doesn’t have the skill to use correctly.