Meaning of metal umlaut | Babel Free

Definitions

Synonym of heavy metal umlaut.

Examples

“Metallurgists from Motörhead to Mötley Crüe have proven the eensy diacritic as iconic as Spandex, pyrotechnics and Aqua-Net. Spin̈al Tap’s David St. Hubbins explains the umlaut’s universal appeal: “It’s like a pair of eyes. You’re looking at the umlaut, and the umlaut is looking at you.” But unlike the legitimate ’louts gracing the names of Björk or Hüsker Dü, the metal umlaut doesn’t have any phonetic purpose, simply serving as shorthand for “We rawk!” and making confused Germans shout “Mo-ET-ley Cru-UH!””

“Even Hüsker Dü’s umlauts were gratuitous. They named themselves after a Danish game called Husker Du, which means “Do you remember?” but added metal umlauts to make it look edgier.”

“Blue Öyster Cult, Motörhead, Mötley Crüe and Queensrÿche are among the leading exponents of the metal umlaut – which sounds as if it should be a traditional typesetting term.”

CEFR level