sturmfreie Bude

Parents gone for the weekend? Roommates out of town? Great! It's time to throw a party and make a mess with no worries about getting caught. And German has just the expression for this lucky state of affairs: sturmfreie Bude. A "Bude" is a place or hangout, and "sturmfrei" (literally, storm-free) refers to the fact that no one is going to come storming in unexpectedly and break up the fun - at least, that's what one hopes anyway. But then again, if teen movies or sitcoms are anything to go by, you probably know that nothing stays "sturmfrei" for long. The parents are sure to show up just when things are getting fun.