The English word 'shitstorm' has entered the German equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The use of the expletive in the European country is so widespread it has been named the “Anglicism of the Year” by the Duden dictionary.
Even Angela Merkel has used the term in public without raising as much as an eyebrow, the BBC reports.
Angela Merkel has used the rude word in public parlance
Its meaning in Germany is slightly different from the UK, being used to denote a public outcry, especially one that gains pace with support on the internet.
German politicians are right to fear a 'shitstorm' after one such example forced the-then Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg to resign over a plagiarism scandal in March 2011.
The plagiarism scandal led to him being nicknamed Baron Cut-and-Paste, Zu Copyberg and Zu Googleberg, by the German media.
In a statement, the panel from Duden said: "Shitstorm fills a gap in the German vocabulary that has become apparent through changes in the culture of public debate.”
German words, such as Kritik (criticism), were simply not descriptive enough, it added, reported the Local.