What is the connection between German idioms, story tales and sausages? Weather it is Michael Ende’s “The Never Ending Story” (“Die Unendliche Geschichte”), Erich Kästner’s “Emil and the Detectives” (“Emil Und Die Detektive”) or Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel”, German storytelling reveals a rich culture and a millennial tradition.
But did you now that this country produces over 1200 different types of sausages? Surely the opulent German cuisine would have also infiltrated the expressive Teutonic language, as we can see from the following German idioms.
Kein Schwein war da
Translation: There weren’t any pigs there
Meaning: Not worth going, a bad place to be (to understand this idiom you need to keep in mind the German’s love for sausages.
Das ist mir Wurst
Translation: That’s sausage to me
Meaning: That doesn’t matter
Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei
Translation: Everything has an end. Only the sausage has two
Meaning: All good things must end (but said with a lot more feeling)
Sie spielt die beleidigte Leberwurst
Translation: She’s playing the insulted sausage
Meaning: She’s all worked up (said with lots of gusto)
Eine Extrawurst haben
Translation: To get an extra sausage
Meaning: To ask for special treatment
Er muss zu allem seinen Senf dazugeben
Translation: He has to add his mustard to everything
Meaning: Give his two cents worth
Wir haben zusammen noch keine Schweine gehütet!
Translation: We haven’t kept any pigs together
Meaning: We don’t know each other all that well
Schwein haben
Translation: To have a pig
Meaning: To be lucky. Obviously to Germans having a pig means a lot more that having a cow means to the English speaking world.
Mein Englisch ist unter aller Sau
Translation: My English is under all pig
Meaning: My English is really bad
Wie die Kuh vorm neuen Tor dastehen
Translation: Like a cow standing in front of a new door
Meaning: Confused, much like someone faced with a new situation
Da liegt der Hase im Pfeffer!
Translation: There’s a rabbit in the pepper
Meaning: something that is depressing, a catastrophe.
Da steppt der Bär
Translation: That’s where the bear dances
Meaning: A great party
Jemandem einen Bären aufbinden
Translation: To tie a bear to someone
Meaning: to deceive someone into accepting something false
Affentheater
Translation: Monkey theatre
Meaning: An outrageous behavior (Its origin lies back in the 19th century and the ambulant animal fun shows)
Sie hat ein Kater
Translation:She has a tomcat
Meaning: She’s got a hangover
Das ist ein Katzensprung
Translation: That’s a cat jump
Meaning: Something is very close, a stone’s throw away
Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof
Translation: Life is no pony farm
Meaning: Life is not easy
Vogel friss oder stirb
Translation: Bird eat or die
Meaning: Pretty straight forward. It’s a do or die situation.
Der Fisch stinkt vom Kopf her
Translation: The fish starts stinking from the head
Meaning: Problems always start at the top (so very true in politics)
Sie hat einen Vogel
Translation: She has a bird
Meaning: She is mentally ill
Wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen
Translation: Where fox and hare say goodnight to one another
Meaning: in the middle of nowhere, in a remote location (and surely not in a story book)
Da liegt der Hund begraben
Translation: That’s where the dog’s buried
Meaning: That’s the heart of the matter – when you want to show that you know what the situation is about
Katze in Sack kaufen
Translation: To buy a cat in a sack
Meaning: To buy something without inspecting it first
Wer weiß, warum die Gänse barfuß gehen
Translation: Who knows why the geese go barefoot
Meaning: That’s just the way it is
Schlafen wie ein Murmeltier
Translation: Sleep like a marmot
Meaning: Sleep like a log
Tomaten auf den Augen haben
Translation: To have tomatoes in your eyes
Meaning: Not being able to see the obvious
Klar wie Kloßbrühe
Translation: clear as dumpling broth
Meaning: crystal clear
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Nice post, I just loved it.
Many thanks,
Juniper, UK
Thank you for stopping by, Juniper.
Your comment is “as good as gold” – much appreciated 🙂