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From: Stewart
Remote Name: 68.229.157.99
Date: 04/26/2009
Time: 12:35:43 PM
I'm sure Frederica will be a better person to ask 99 times out of 100; but, this time not. The Canadian cat is probably closer to the right track in that it must have been named in the same spirit as the boy in the song. In fact, the Schnitzelbank song is kept up in Canada by folks at the Amana colony. But back to the schnickelfritz, I've asked lots of German speakers but it seems to have fallen out of fashion. On the web some folks report elderly relatives calling them that as kids. My best guess at a translation so far is "rascal" or "little rascal". Remember the illustration is a student type toasting with a stein of beer. There was a collector's doll named schnickelfritz in the late 19th century. It all adds up to a general meaning of a naughty young person as described by a sympathetic friend or relative.