Comparle

Germanpractice word

Zugzwang

TSOOK-tsvahng[ˈtsuːkˌtsvaŋ]

Pronunciation: Jeuwre · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

being forced to move when every move makes things worse

Closest in English: dilemma, predicament, catch-22. None of them covers it.

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The story

Zug is a move and Zwang is compulsion: chess does not let you pass, and in some positions whoever has to move loses. English chess writers took the German word over early in the twentieth century, and politics borrowed it later. The plain English is a no-win situation.

How it went in the game

Contains the answers. If you want to play the word yourself first, leave this closed.

  1. Which language is it from?German
  2. What does it literally say?Move-compulsion
  3. Where would you hear it?A chess endgame, the clock ticking down
  4. What does it mean?Having to act when any act makes it worse

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