The German language has a lot more humorous expressions than most people credit the “people of the poets and philosophers” for. Here’s one of those that has made it into the English language in its abstract meaning: Sitzfleisch (pronounce: ‘zits-flie-sh). It literally means flesh to sit on and describes a specific human body part, namely the buttocks, one’s behind, or whatever else you may call it.
To be honest, I have never heard anybody use the term in its literal sense in German although Google comes up with a number of pages that suggest that there were two meanings in use. There is just one: “to have Sitzfleisch”. As there is nothing unusual in that, as the standard edition of a human being comes with buttocks, the meaning of having Sitzfleisch, of course, points into a different direction.
Think of having ants in your pants. Exactly: not literally either, of course. It means that you cannot sit down quietly and in peace for a moment because something keeps your mind occupied and wants you to pace. To do something else. Certainly not to … have Sitzfleisch and stick to your task.
Ah, indeed, to have Sitzfleisch means that you are willing to sit at something as long as it takes to solve or finish the task that you have been set. A professional pianist proves Sitzfleisch when studying a new musical score for a concert. So does any innovator until their object has achieved the state of publication. Or an author who writes another book. A scientist working on a theory or a thesis.
In other words, to have Sitzfleisch means to have tenacity, persistence, to resist any impulses to leave what you have begun. To resist any suggestion that you should leave … Ah, there’s the second meaning!
Whereas the first one is a compliment to those who work their brains until they come up with a result, the second is a polite reference to somebody who is impolite enough not to get a hint when their time is up. Just like the guest who won’t leave when the host already has gone to the wine cellar to stock up on what was the party’s drinks’ limit or when the hostess shows up in their pajamas. In this case, people who have Sitzfleisch lack empathy and only consider their own comfort zone which outsizes that of anybody around them.
Therefore, I’ll let you off the hook now. You have proven enough Sitzfleisch in a positive way to have read until here. Thank you!
