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German Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [idiom]

Redewendungen – Questions on idioms, i.e., groups of words that have a meaning not deducible from the individual words

You should use this tag if your question is about groups of words that have, established by usage, a meaning not deducible from the individual words.

Examples of idioms are:

  • einen Bären aufbinden
  • wo der Pfeffer wächst
  • Hopfen und Malz verloren
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What's the German expression for 'In a nutshell'

The closest I was able to find is in Kürze. Is there a translation that means something similar as it does in English?
Mefhisto1
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What is a German equivalent idiom of "the good, the bad and the ugly"?

The title of the classic Spaghetti Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" has found its way into the English language as a way to refer to positive and negative aspects of a particular thing, e.g. when reviewing a product. But it's also nice as a…
slhck
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What is the most fitting translation of "Try me!"?

Is there an equivalent for the English phrase "Try me!" in German? The only translations I could find/come up with are: Wetten? Wetten, dass? I can't help but feel like this is not the best phrasing possible. "Try me!" is a more direct challenge…
tmh
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Is there metaphorical meaning of "aus der Haft entlassen"?

In a formal letter that I received there was a sentence Gerne werden wir Sie aus der Haft entlassen per 31.05.2019. It is regarding rental agreement, but the only translation for Haft, that I've found is prison and I am not being actually…
matvs
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What's a short rhyme meaning, e.g. for Christmas, I only want an empty box?

My Grandma, born in 1883 to German immigrants in New York would use the odd German phrase in daily life here in the States. Each year her answer to "What would you like for Christmas?" was something sounding like "nichtly bichtly" which I know is…
motomuso
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crazy animal cookies

I am looking for the equivalent of "that (or you) drives (or makes) me crazy". I learned it with wahnsinnig, but was recently given a more colorful, if somewhat suspicious alternate version: Du gehst mir tierisch auf den Keks. Apparently the…
Scarbo
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Wieso wirft man jemanden »hochkant« raus?

Wenn jemand irgendwo gehen muss und das »grob, unnachsichtig« zu spüren bekommt, so fliegt sie hochkant, er wird hochkant hinausgeworfen. Aber wieso »hochkant« oder auch »achtkantig«? Menschen haben ja nicht so richtig Kanten wie z. B. Bücher (die…
ospalh
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13
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Meaning of 'ran' in German?

While reading a graded reader for German learners (Momente in München) I ran across the expression "Ran an die Arbeit" and wanted to understand why it means "Get to work"? I searched in several places and realized that I didn't know what 'ran'…
Tony M
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What is the German idiom or expression for when someone is being hypocritical against their own teachings?

In the USA we have a few common idioms for indicating to someone they are being hypocritical, with the sub-context being that they are contradicting their own teachings or personal code for living. For example: An author of self-help book on using…
Robert Oschler
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Was meint hier »ein toller Hecht«?

I'm reading the Harry Potter series in German to brush up on the language. I came across the following sentence: »Dieser Lockhart ist schon ein toller Hecht, nicht wahr?« So I guess it's saying something good about him. I looked up "Hecht" and…
Kevin
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How to say "get the joke" in German

I'm a beginner in German and I'm trying to speak German at my friends and such in order to help my learning journey. I was wondering how does one say "get the joke", as in "finally, you get the joke!"? Thanks for the help.
Maths fan123
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Herkunft einen an der Waffel haben?

Diese Redewendung heisst wohl bescheuert sein. Aber woher kommt es? Kann mir nichts darunter vorstellen. Man denkt da an das Gebäck Waffel vielleicht.
J. Doe
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Are the expressions "zum Besuch" or "zu Besuch" interchangeable

I have heard both these used when someone is visiting - can someone explain if there is a difference or can both be used interchangeably?
Stephen Block
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Redewendung: vor den Kopf stoßen

Warum sagt man "vor" in der Redewendung jemand(en) vor den Kopf stoßen? Irgendwie kommt mir das "vor" unlogisch vor.
rogermue
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Is there a German equivalent to the saying "to be in love with the sound of one's own voice"?

I'm in a meeting where somebody is talking too much and was wondering how can I talk about this guy with my colleagues afterwards. Does German have a way of saying "he's really in love with the sound of his own voice?"
Henry Firth
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