Squids

Kalmäus is an outdated synonym for a learned couch potato .

The word formation is derived from calamus , the material from which the writing implements were made. The ending is probably formed analogously to the older swear word Duckmäuser .

Probably the first evidence comes from Simon Roth's dictionary from 1571. There, a despised schoolmaster is referred to as a squid. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the swear word was spread primarily by students who rebelled against philistineism ; From the student's language it then also came into various dialects.