When you ask a German friend, “Do you have Spam? Hast du Spam?” he or she won’t think of the canned lunch meat. No, that’s das Frühstücksfleisch, and it’s produced by a number of different companies, but the old favorite Hormel Spam is not available in Germany. Nevertheless, your German friend will probably answer yes, and maybe add an expletive or two. The German word, der Spam, means just what “spam” means to us Americans nowadays: unwanted trash filling up your email or comment folders.
Clare B. Dunkle
