The German Word for “Ornament” Is …

John J. Ray found an interesting meaning for the pen name of a prominent 20th-century leftist:

Occasionally however the guards must have run out of imagination and gave names that were not too bad. "Wiesengrund" is an example. It means "Meadowland", which sounds rather pleasant to me. In one of those ironies with which life abounds, however, the most prominent bearer of that name for his entire professional life used the pen-name of "Adorno", which is Spanish for "ornament"! Words fail me!

The German word for ornament is “Schmuck.” I won't argue with Adorno's self assessment.