Word: zehntausend
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Germany's nobility was largely to blame for its own decline. Holding themselves aloof from politics, business and the intellectual world, Dieoberen Zehntausend (the Top Ten Thousand), as Bismarck called the elite, devoted their lives either to hunting or to the army; when Hindenburg joined the cadet corps in 1859, 2,000 of 2,900 Prussian officers were of noble birth. However, in its emphasis on a "citizens' army," West Germany's government has even closed off this time-honored avenue for "aristocratic service...
...status tipple in Europe. West Germany imported 504,131 gal. of Scotch in 1959; last year the total was up to 808,919 gal., and the estimates for 1962 run to 1,000,000. "It's the thing to drink if you want to belong to the Oberen Zehntausend [upper ten thousand]," explained a Bonn bartender. Smart Italians ask for their "ooeesky" Us do (straight) or con ghiàccio (on the rocks), and hosts pour their guests hefty slugs in large glasses, which are then nursed for the rest of the evening...
| 1 |