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Muggeseggele, orMuckenseckel, is a humorousAlemannic German idiom used inSwabia to designate a nonspecific very small length or amount of something; it refers to ahousefly'sscrotum.[1][2] It has been called the smallest Swabian unit of measurement[3][4] and plays a similar role in northernBaden-Württemberg[5] andFranconia.
The termMuggeseggele has an iconic character and is one of the most preferredSwabian idioms.[6] In a 2009 readers' survey byStuttgarter Nachrichten, the largest newspaper inStuttgart,Muggeseggele was chosen as "the most beautiful Swabian word" by a large margin.[3]
The Swabian term for housefly isMugg. This is akin toMücke, the standard German word formosquito. According to linguistHans-Martin Gauger, the second element in the wordMuggeseggele corresponds to the standard GermanSäckel, meaninglittle sack; the term, therefore, must have originally referred to thescrotum, like the Latin cognatesaccellus.[7] This second element in the word occurs independently in Swabian German asSeckel, which is used as a swear word and is thus a rare instance of a sexually themed abusive word in the German language, which mostly usesscatological swearing.[7][8]
In the case ofMuggeseggele, the sexual and abusive aspect is not at all present. On the contrary, it is mostly used to express a very small but distinctive distance or amount of substance, as in "the soup needs a Muggeseggele of parsley". It can be used in speaking to children and is deemed completely harmless (compareBubenspitzle). It is used in the TV seriesEin Fall für B.A.R.Z., which takes place inFellbach. German's public broadcasterSWR's children's websiteSWR Kindernetz (kids' network) mention the word in aSwabian dictionary that presents some peculiarities of the Swabian dialect to their young audience. Kindernetz uses the sentenceA muggeseggele Zeit hätten wir noch! and translates it asEin bisschen Zeit hätten wir noch, meaning "We still have a tiny bit of time left".[9]
Wolfgang Wulz, president of theVerein Schwäbische Mundart (Association of the Swabian Tongue), has praisedMuggeseggele andLällebäbbel as prominent examples of distinctive and admirable Swabian expressions.[6]
Both foreign and German immigrants to Baden-Württemberg tend to include some of the specific dialect expressions in the course of speaking. They often do not adapt to the dialect, but show their desire to integrate into the local community by adopting key regional vocabulary.Muggeseggele is one of the words deemed funny and distinctive and used in that way as part of a cultural code.[10] A cookery book honoring the relationship between thetwinned cities ofKarlsruhe andHalle contains a small glossary ofSaxon and Alemannic words, includingMuggeseggele.[11] An article inSüddeutsche Zeitung quoted Thomas Lindner, CEO of textile machinery companyGroz-Beckert inAlbstadt-Ebingen and Speaker ofVerband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA) and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce inReutlingen, as saying: "At our Indian premises, everybody knows what a muggaseggele is."[12] Groz-Beckert is a leading company in the production of textile needles and the termMuggeseggele is therefore used to stress exactitude and diligence as well as Swabiancultural influence throughout the company.[12]
The term is used as an example of must-know Swabian vocabulary in courses of Swabian as a foreign language inTübingen.[4] The same applies for lectures and books written in Swabian.[13]
WhileMuggeseggele has often been used to refer simply to an extremely small measure, actual measurements of fly penises by anentomologist at theNaturkundemuseum inStuttgart gave an average length of 0.22 millimetres (0.0087 in).[14]
Agnat's cock or agnat's dick is a similar construction in the English language,[15] but it has a more irreverent or obscene aspect.[16] InScots English, a "baw hair" is a similar unit of very small distance.[17]
In Australia, the colloquialbee's dick is used. For example, “The ball missed the gentleman’s head by a mere bee’s dick”.[1]
