Pardon my ignorance, Candice, but I just have to ask: what does this "six gear" expression mean?

handstand
fuji, it's Leo speak for English for Runaways - literally translated German. I think it hails from a thread about it called something like 6-gear disgusting menu (work out the German for yourself...)

Oh sorry, I thought every LEO member knew this expression. Let me see if I find the link... Till then, let me just say, it means literal - and wrong - word for word translations, like 6-gear-menu for 6-Gänge Menü.

Here´s the link - hope this works...

disgusting 6-gear menu - sechsgängiges Degustationsmenü

This thread is really legendary ... :-)))))))))))

one more try...

Siehe auch: disgusting 6-gear menu - sechsgängiges Degus...

Ich muss immer schlucken, wenn ich in archäologischen Texten auf das Wort "findspot" stoße und es kostet mich Überwindung, es zu verwenden.

@Candice
I thank you for the link that you posted have!!! This link is so funny that I me dead laugh!!!! :-D

@candice #0: K"onnte man nicht inzwischen auch "uberhappy bzw. uberhappy sagen?

Wenn man seinen Bildung oder Deutschkenntnisse zeigen m"ochte, k"onnte man auch gleich bei "ubergl"ucklich bleiben. Aber das geht wohl etwas weit.

There's a list of "true friends" here, but it's pretty trivial.

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/true_f...

"Pull yorself together" comes to mind.

"anorak" is missing from that list - although I prefer the figurative meaning anyway ;-)

@Mr. Chekov: "Zieh dich zusammen?" Oder "Reiss dich zusammen?" Das wäre dann doch schon "Tear/rip yourself together," I think. :-)

"Er lebt aus dem Koffer" = "He lives out of a suitcase"

meine bessere Hälfte - my better half ;-)

@dude, ich hab' "pull yourself together" auch noch nicht im richtigen Leben gehört, aber es steht im "Webster":

— pull oneself together: to regain one's composure

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pull

Oh. Jetzt versteh' ich den Gag. Ist zu spät für mich... :-)

Candice, that thread you provided is hilarious!! Thanks for the link! :-)
The pseudo-translation "disgusting six-gear menu" is priceless - not to mention the creative Denglish going on in there. Over 500 posts, too! Those were the days, eh what? No rules, no restrictions, no tattle-taling...;-)

Yap, those were the days ... Meine Güte, was war das für ein heißer Sommer und was war das für ein lustiger Faden - damals, back then ;-))

Candice, mir geht das auch immer so, daß ich einen englischen Satz lese und mir denke, daß das Germlish sein muß - aber wie sich herausstellt, ist das dann doch ganz oft ganz reines, saubres Englisch. Ein Beispiel hab ich leider gerade nicht parat.

I didn't understand the expression '6-gear' either Candace until you mentioned 'Gang' in connection with a menu.

'Gang' means 'gear' if you're talking about a bicycle or a car.

'Gang' with reference to a meal would be translated 'course' as in the 18-course menu of the banquet our world leaders enjoyed while they discussed the global food crisis:

http://tinyurl.com/6mw8ka

Sorry - I should have paid more attention.

It took a while for me to realize that '6- course' translated as '6-gear' was the point of the thread - or, rather, whether there are real English words which sound as if they might be literal translations.

This doesn't fit here exactly but I have always loved the translation of 'crop duster' as 'Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittelsprühflugzeug'.

When I looked at the translation in Leo just now I saw that 'crop duster' is just translated just as 'Sprühflugzeug' but I swear I remember seeing the full version used at some point.

It gets on my nerves - Diese Wendung hatte ich einmal unter 6-gear-Verdacht.

"to give up the ghost" ("den Geist aufgeben")

I was never quite sure about that one - until I actually came across this expression in the latest Stephen King novel "Duma Key", referring to a beach chair that collapsed (or "broke together") ...

Hi Mr Chekov - thank you for posting this list, but you are right; this isn´t exactly what I´m looking for...

YES, woody, "give up the ghost" or "break together" - that´s it. You hit the nail on the head! There should be a lot more out there - who can help?

And let me thank everybody else for racking their brains or writing all sorts of nice comments. :-)

"rack the brain" - "Gehirn zermartern"?

"rack" ist ja auch die Folterbank ... Zählt das noch?

Oops - "break together" truly is 6-gear, ísn´t it?

*gg* Look, what I found when I tried to do some research myself...

http://www.uebersetzungsfallen.de/stilblueten.html

(only roughly related to my question, but still funny...)

Lasst uns doch mal "6-gear" als Neuvorschlag in LEO eintragen. Heute in LEO, morgen im Merriam-Webster!! *diabolischlach*

A propos, hieß nicht ein Programm von Helge Schneider "I brake together"? Das aktuelle heißt jedenfalls "Akopalüze nau", umso besser. *Zungeentknot*

Lieber bei dict.cc >:-)

Ist "Break together" nicht doch 6 gear? Im Englischen heißt es doch break down?

Give up the ghost gehört zu den Sachen, bei denen ich auf 6-gear geschworen hätte, aber es ist echt.

tigger, eastworld - schließe mich Eurem Vorschlag mit Begeisterung an, hehehe ... *fg*

Also bitte, diesen absolut wunderbaren Ausdruck werfe ich doch nicht dict.cc hin. Welch Verschwendung!

Ich habe mal in einer Englischübersetzung (damals in der Schule) gestaunt, als ich zum ersten mal "I find it very interesting..." gelesen habe. Ich dachte "sieh an, das gibt's auch auf Englisch!?" und habe es entsprechend übersetzt und einen Fehler dafür angerechnet bekommen, da es sich dabei um einen Anglizismus handele. Für mich klingt das auf Deutsch immer noch total normal.

Mondschaf, da stehe ich jetzt auf dem Schlauch, glaube ich... Wie jetzt, "Ich finde es sehr interessant..." soll kein korrektes Deutsch sein? *grübel*

sich gehen lassen - let oneself go

Siehe Wörterbuch: sich gehen lassen

haaaalt - ich melde Copyright an :-) Das "6-gear disgusting menu" stammt nämlich von mir

Ganz furchtbar verzweifeln läßt mich die technische "Nachlaufzeit" (von Motoren o.ä.): "after-run time"

Da schüttelt es mich innerlich.

"Heartily" für "herzlich" finde ich auch sehr seltsam. ;-)

candice, das ist was diese Abi-Übersetzungsklausur behauptet hat. Ich habe das hingenommen und daher nie recherchiert, ob "ich finde das interessant" neudeutsch ist.

Oh Verzeihung, penguin.
Ich bereite sofort die Anmeldung einer Wortmarke vor. Was darf's denn sein, nur Deutschland, EU oder doch eine Internationale Marke für alle oder wenigstens ein paar Staaten der Welt? (Das geht auf's Haus, versteht sich. Ähm... naja, ich frag den Chef noch mal.)

tigger, mir reicht der virtuelle LEO-Raum, bitte danke habe die Ähre

Aääääh ... okay, dann will ich (ausnahmsweise) mal nix gesagt haben, bevor wir uns hier noch in Urheberrechts-Streitigkeiten verwickeln ...

Ich finde dieses "disgusting menu" auf jeden Fall absolut köstlich - auch wenn es immer wieder "hochkommt" :-)

Das Copyright wäre zu bezweifeln ;)

War nicht Otto der Initiant von "6-gear English" (ich meine nicht das Wort, das ist wohl hier entstanden, aber die Sprache, die man damit verbindet).

A la: I am hungry. Ich bin Ungar. =)

I always enjoy 'Equals goes loose' and 'One wall free'

Marky, aber die klingen nicht nur nach "six-gear", sondern sind es auch wirklich ;-) Thema verfehlt ;-)

#41: Das Copyright bezog sich auf die "Wortmarke" 6-gear, nicht auf "Englisch for Runnaways" allgemein.

Copyleft wird in der Open-Source-Bewegung ja gerne als Wort verwendet.

"This book is unputdownable." Kommt zwar nicht vom Deutschen, klingt aber trotzdem zu schön um richtig zu sein, oder?

Belatedly ... (-:


Siehe auch: "Real" friends??^
Siehe auch: Wenn man woertlich uebersetzen kann...
Siehe auch: Vertrautes wirkt fremd

Ich bin neulich über "this is no sunday stroll" gestolpert... was ja genau dem deutschen "das ist kein Sonntagsspaziergang" entspricht.

@mondschaf: "Ich finde das sehr interessant", ist absolut korrektes Deutsch, find' ich jedenfalls. ;-) Für mich (deutscher Muttersprachler) klingt eher "I find that very interesting" direkt übersetzt, was es aber nicht ist.

@#21 and 28: "Give up the ghost" has come down to the present through the KJV Bible. In the OT the phrase is usually "gave up the ghost and died" Genesis 25:8 (Abraham), 25:27 (Ishmael), 35:29 Isaac, Lamentations 1:19 (no "and died"). In the NT it's just "gave up the ghost" Mark 15:37, 39, Luke 23:46, John 19:30 (all Jesus at the crucifixion), Acts 5:5 (Ananias), 12:23 (Herod Antipas)

This isn't German or English, but when I first encountered the Spanish for trespass, it was in the negative command form: 'no traspasen', and I thought it couldn't possibly be Spanish (more like Spanglish), but it is.

Oh, thank you, hm-us, for posting the LEO links. I had checked for previous inquiries, but was only thinking of something like "true friends". There are a number of suggestions in these threads, however, I wouldn´t mind learning about some more...

Having reread the other threads, I´ve come up with a list of my favorites. Anybody interested (or willing to add some more)?

„Real friends“

my better half
to give up the ghost
to look death in the eye
to keep so. in the dark about sth.
to break the ice
crowned with success
to go to the dogs
to hit the nail on the head
so to speak
to sweep sth. under the carpet
dog days
to overwinter
after-run time
heartily
to let oneself go
findspot
overhappy

and a new one for my list:
to be on the same wavelength

Hi, candice. Sorry I wasn't around earlier in the week.

One word of caution: Not all of the suggestions so far are equally common or idiomatic. In your short list, ones I've never personally come across include to overwinter, overhappy, after-run time, and findspot (can't even guess what those last two mean). Those look to me like really 6-gear, i.e., unfamiliar to most English speakers, even if someone somewhere may have used them.

I agree that we probably haven't found them all yet. Maybe this will spur a few more ideas. (-:

Hi hm-us, thank you for commenting on these expressions. I really appreciate native speakers giving me their two cents on the usage of these terms. Most of them do exist, though, the only one I couldn´t find anywhere was "after-run time" (only run time) - I had just assumed that the LEOnite who posted it, was sure it existed...

Siehe Wörterbuch: overwinter

Siehe Wörterbuch: overhappy

http://www.answers.com/topic/findspot

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/run-time

after-run-time: here it is (so even this one exists)

http://books.google.de/books?id=s6NKbEJiEMkC...

You live and learn!
But I agree with you, hm-us, that only few people would use it. And after all, I am looking for expressions that people actually use...

With all due respect (assuming that both hm-us and candice are native speakers):

To me the fact that one native speaker does know a certain expression represents a much stronger indication that the expression indeed exists than the fact than another native speaker does not know that same expression would indicate that it doesn't exist.

It is very common not to know words that exist - it is much less common to know words that don't exist.

Just realized one can look up the profiles of the posters. Since my assumption (that both are native speakers) was wrong, I take back my post #55 (at least as far as applying it on this thread is concerned)

@temp: Your statements are still valid. There are a lot of words in any given language that an individual native speaker won't know - even a native speaker who deals with languages on a regular basis. Of course, technical terms come immediately to mind (e.g. "findspot", which is used in archaeology; "after-run time", which refers to a particular phenomenon largely related to automobiles; "in regards to the teleological schema of salvific history, are you a supralapsarian or an infralapsarian?" - not too many people outside of theological circles will make sense of that one). There are also regionalisms (truck vs lorry, hood vs bonnet, etc.) and sociolects and slang. Sometimes a neologism simply has not penetrated far enough for everyone to have encountered it.

On the other hand, if we know something about the people who post (e.g. can check profiles - BTW, where's yours?), it can help us in determining whether a word is appropriate in a certain area (e.g. England, US, Australia, NZ, etc.) or group. For example, if you know that I hold degrees in Theology and Music but tell you I am unacquainted with a particular term, then you should think about whether the term is common or even known in those circles. (Doesn't mean they aren't, as you point out; argument from silence is always weak; Reverend might come along and say he's familiar with the term.)

Most of the terms on Candice's list (#51) are well known to me as fairly standard English constructions. In fact, the only two that I might have thought came from the 6-gear menu were "overwinter" and "findspot". "Overwinter" I would have dismissed as a superfluous escalation of "to winter"; "findspot" makes sense but is new to me, so I've learned something from this thread. Thanks!

If we had to go by pure logic alone, yes, it's impossible to prove anything doesn't exist based on only one person's evidence. In fact, by pure logic alone, you have no reason to trust anything I or anyone else in this forum writes, since you don't know any of us from Adam.

But common sense and experience also come into it. For one thing, the issue here isn't about proving anything obscure, or about neologisms or technical terms, only about practical tips for learning normal English. As a schoolteacher, candice is surely looking for expressions that are useful in general conversation. The ones I flagged definitely do not fall in the category of active vocabulary, or even of passive vocabulary for nonspecialists. 'Overwinter' might be a little borderline, but 'spend the winter' is undoubtedly many times more common and idiomatic. If anyone doubts that, why not try a web search, or a visit to the online text corpus at Uni-Leipzig? No one has to take my word for it.

Still, people who know me from this forum know that I have a pretty big vocabulary, and not all related to subjects that I've formally studied. If I haven't heard of a word, it's a pretty safe bet that a lot of other people haven't heard of it either.

For anyone else who wants a very unscientific measure of their vocabulary knowledge, there's always the free rice website. (-:

Siehe auch: Testet Euer Englisch...



PS: If this turns out to be a double or triple post due to Error 502, I apologize in advance. \-:

@hm -- us: Thanks for saying better than I did what I was really trying to get at. BTW, I visit the site fairly regularly - I ought to go more often - and enjoy the dual nature of the being able to donate rice and check vocabulary.

Ich danke für den link zu freerice, sehr interessant, ich habe gerade 5200 Körner erspielt.

Ein Ausdruck für diesen Thread ist mir noch eingefallen: through thick and thin, kA wo das im Deutschen herkommt, aber scheint universell zu sein.

Thank you for all your contributions - quite interesting to read. (Can´t help feeling a bit flattered that temp took me for a native speaker - thank you *ggg*)
hm-us mentioned that I am a teacher, and this is actually where my interest in these expressions comes from. Every once in a while, when I´m correcting tests or compositions, I feel tempted to mark such words as "WRONG", just because they sound too "German" for me, only to find out later that they do exist. So it´s really not the technical terms I´m interested in (as you pointed out), but all kinds of "real friends" German students might come up with.

about the free rice website: I also enjoy this site; the problem is, however, that you can cheat, and I find it very hard not to do that... ;-)

Coming from an English language background, I was amazed when I first encoutered the word idiotensicher. "How rude," I thought, "how do people manage to say that and get away with it?" Only later did it dawn on me that the perfectly inoffensive foolproof was an exact equivalent.

Bin in einem Netzwerkfaden über

wallflower = Mauerblümchen

gestolpert. Dachte es wäre ein "false friend", hab den Löwen konsultiert und mich überzeugen lassen.

to come into play - ins Spiel kommen

Immer wenn ich es verwende, schaue ich nach, ob es nicht Denglisch ist - but apparently, it is not...

flame thrower - ich habe es heute einfach mal auf Verdacht wörtlich übersetzt und es hat funktioniert :-) Englisch lernen macht Spaß!

Ich las gerade im Spiegel Online Panorama die Überschrift:

'J-Lo schmeißt erotische Überraschungsparty'

und mich fragte was 'schmeißen' in Verbindung mit 'Party' wohl bedeuten könnte, bis mir einfiel, daß es auf AE zumindestens den Ausdruck

'to throw a party'

gibt.

'Schmeißt' man auch Feste auf deutsch oder nur Partys?

Partys schmeißt man auch hier, aber keine Feste.
Eine Folge von "Eine schrecklich nette Familie" nannte sich mal "Bud wirft eine Party", grusel.

Yeah, just found another one: dead tired

Not a 'six-gear' expression, yet interesting is the fact that the German equivalent of 'not my cup of tea' is 'nicht mein Bier'.

Another 'not a six-gear expression' is 'cool as a cucumber'. 'Kühl wie eine Gurke'? I don't think so.

In der Schule wurde uns ausschließlich noon für "Mittag" beigebracht. Wie habe mich gewundert, als ich das erste Mal jemanden midday habe sagen hören.

'Midday' is not common, but I'd say it's used as a more general term than 'noon' - which means exactly 12 hours after midnight.

'Midday' to me would be 'around the middle of the day', i.e., from, say, eleven to one, not as an exact time as 'noon' is.

... genau, und in diesem Sinne auch eine viel passendere Übersetzung als noon. Wenn wir von Mittag sprechen, meinen wir ja auch meistens nicht Punkt 12 sondern die Zeit von 11.30-13.30 oder so.

Wo doch einige hier vom Arbeitsplatz aus ihre Kommentare abgeben: heißt es tatsächlich "workplace"? Mir rollt es bei dem Ausdruck die Fußnägel hoch.

http://www.google.at/search?hl=de&as_qdr=all...

Nelda, Deine Fußnägel sind einfach falsch eingestellt - gönne ihnen eine Betriebspause :-). "Workplace" ist englisch.

Wobei ich bei "overhappy" nicht überglücklich bin. Ich würde "overjoyed" sagen.

http://www.google.at/search?hl=de&as_qdr=all...

...wobei natürlich "workplace" und "Arbeitsplatz" nicht immer das Gleiche heißen.

"workplace" wird verwendet im Sinne von "Arbeitsumgebung", meistens in Konstruktionen mit "in the workplace" (siehe Link), z.B. safety in the workplace, depression in the workplace, harassment in the workplace, physical activity in the workplace...

Wenn Du aber "Arbeitsplatz" im Sinne von einer Stelle bzw. dem Schreibtisch an dem Du arbeitest, dann heißt es entweder "job" bzw. "desk".

(Wenn Du... meinst...)

Wie findet Ihr "table runner"? Ich habe mich beim Einkaufen mal königlich amüsiert, als mir das als englische Bezeichnung auf der Verpackung von Tischläufern (ist dieses deutsche Wort eigentlich sehr verbreitet?) unterkam und wollte es hier zum Besten geben. Man stelle sich meine Verblüffung vor, als ich den LEO-Eintrag las...

Bin letztens über das Wort "standstill" gestolpert, das englische Wort für "Stillstand".
Sachen gibts...

the offer stands - das Angebot steht

Heute morgen im (amerikanischen) Radio gehoert, da habe ich auch nicht schlecht gestaunt...

countersign kam mir auch komisch vor, als ich das gelesen habe, aber nachdem ich im OALD nachgesehen habe dachte ich auch "Warum auch nicht?"

foresee - vorsehen
dachte da hat einer zu deutsch übersetzt. aber scheint es wirklich im englischen so zu geben...

Ich bin mal über Krankenbetten - sick beds gestolpert und wollte mich totlachen über die kranken Betten... stimmt aber so.

The new list - please feel free to criticize!
Do you know some more?

my better half
to give up the ghost
to look death in the eye
to keep so. in the dark about sth.
to break the ice
crowned with success
to go to the dogs
to hit the nail on the head
so to speak
to sweep sth. under the carpet
dog days
(to overwinter)
(after-) run time
heartily
to let oneself go
findspot
overhappy
to be on the same wavelength
wallflower
to come into play
flame thrower
to throw a party
dead tired / dog-tired
midday
(workplace)
table runner
standstill
the offer stands
to countersign
to foresee
sick beds
to ask around
to break in
to give sth. out

candice: Great job (the list and the thread in general). Just a tiny criticism from someone who loves lists: One or two of us might find it helpful to have the German alongside the English ;-)
(I know, I know, I could just go back through the thread myself.)

Et voilà:

my better half – meine bessere Hälfte
to give up the ghost – den Geist aufgeben
to look death in the eye – dem Tod ins Auge blicken
to keep so. in the dark about sth. – jn im Dunkel lassen
to break the ice – das Eis brechen
crowned with success – von Erfolg gekrönt
to go to the dogs – vor die Hunde gehen
to hit the nail on the head – den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen
so to speak - sozusagen
to sweep sth. under the carpet – etwas unter den Teppich kehren
dog days - Hundstage
(to overwinter) – (überwintern)
(after-) run time – (Nach) Laufzeit
heartily - herzlich
to let oneself go – sich gehen lassen
findspot - Fundort
overhappy - überglücklich
to be on the same wavelength – auf der selben Wellenlänge sein
wallflower - Mauerblümchen
to come into play – ins Spiel kommen
flame thrower - Flammenwerfer
to throw a party – eine Party schmeißen
dead tired / dog-tired – todmüde / hundemüde
midday - Mittag
(workplace) – (Arbeitsplatz)
table runner - Tischläufer
standstill - Stillstand
the offer stands – das Angebot steht
to countersign - gegenzeichnen
to foresee - vorhersehen
sick bed - Krankenbett
to ask around – herumfragen
to break in - einbrechen
to give sth. out – etwas ausgeben
 

candice - You're the best! Thanks.

"overhappy" is a false friend. According to my dictionary (Cassell Concise), it means "too happy", i.e. zu glücklich, übermäßig glücklich, thus having negative connotations. (Happier than one ought to be.)

The correct translation of "überglücklich" is "overjoyed", as stated above.

Ich weiß nicht, ob ich alles richtig verstanden habe.

Allow me a try

Equal it goes loose (wirklich gesagt von Bundespräsident Lübke, als er andeuten wollte, dass es gleich "los" geht (dass es beginnen würde.

oder:

I am on the woodway

I am heavy on wire

Mary - can anyone ever be too happy? ;-)

It is listed in some dictionaries, though...

http://www.dict.cc/englisch-deutsch/overhappy.html

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Overhappy

http://dictionary.die.net/overhappy

However, if you and other native speakers point out that you wouldn´t use it in that way, I will put it in brackets in my future list. As I already mentioned, I´m interested in those expressions that really sound OK to "native ears".

@lol - sorry, leider nicht richtig verstanden... :-)
Ich suche Ausdrücke, die nur so klingen, als ob sie "Denglisch" wären, die aber im Englischen tatsächlich verwendet werden.

Ich kann mich erinnern, dass ich total geschockt war, als ich das erste Mal einen Native Speaker "so far so good" sagen hörte. Es klang total nach 6-gear.

In der Zwischenzeit habe ich es so oft gehört, dass es normal klingt.

"sth speaks volumes" "etw spricht Bände"

Couldn't believe at first the English version could possibly be correct.

My favorite is forget-me-not. I couldn't believe it when I read the english edition of Lord of the Rings for the first time and came across this one.

@lol: Wasn't Heinrich Lübke the guy who startet a speach in Africa with "Meine Damen und Herren, liebe Neger!"?

As a native AE speaker, I've never heard the word 'overhappy' although I see from the http://dictionary.die.net/overhappy link that Shakespeare used it.

'Overjoyed' would be the correct equivalent, which could perhaps best be thought of as 'overwhelmed with joy' since 'joy' as a verb is now obsolete (or at least to my knowledge).

If you see 'joy' as a verb in an older text (probably a religious one) it would most likely today be replaced by the word 'rejoice'.

@Frodo

Wasn't Heinrich Lübke the guy who startet a speach in Africa with "Meine Damen und Herren, liebe Neger!"?

Yes, he was

I think this would fit in the '6-gear' category:

'Schuster, bleib' bei deinem Leisten' is, in English,

'Cobbler, stick to your last.'

@candice: Even the online dictionaries you quote (which were the only instances I found when googling for "overhappy" with site:uk) define "overhappy" as "exceedingly happy", which also means "too happy", as I said - übermäßig glücklich. Also auf unpassender Weise glücklich.

Like lwd, I have never heard this word used in English, and was actually surprised to find that it was in my dictionary at all. However I wasn't surprised that the meaning was different from that of overjoyed (=überglücklich).

So, yes, please take that one off your list.

Done.

Mary, I hardly dare to ask: doesn´t "exceedingly" mean just "very" in most cases?
See: Siehe Wörterbuch: exceedingly

Hi, Candice,

If you (and Mary) don't mind, I'll answer your question about 'exceedingly'.

To 'exceed' means to 'go over a limit' - übertreffen/überschreiten - e.g., - so as it's used in 'exceedingly' is the 'Steigerung' of 'very'. If you exceed a speed limit, you will get a speeding ticket if the police are around and catch you.

His voice was 'exceedingly annoying' means that his voice was more annoying than 'very annoying'.

I was just confused, because all the expressions used in the LEO-dictionary for "exceedingly" (äußerst glücklich, außerordentlich glücklich, besonders glücklich, überaus glücklich, in hohem Maße glücklich) basically mean nothing but "überglücklich".

I agree with lwd. Part of the difference comes because English has that Norman French overlay, so double words come to mean at least slightly different things, e.g. Freedom and Liberty. (Statue of Liberty; Liberty Bell; "I am not at liberty to say"; "freedom isn't free"; "the prisoners were given their freedom"; "the prisoners were set at liberty" - the words aren't interchangeable.)

In this case we have "overjoyed", which means "very happy", so "overhappy" takes the negative connotation of "too much, exceeding the limit of appropriateness".

I just thought of another 'exceed' example: 'The results exceeded our expectations', i.e., we expected 200 people to return our questionnaire (we sent out 2000) but we got 773 returns!

When I think of 'äußerst glücklich' or 'außerordentlich glücklich' that says to me that it's a happiness which is at the outer limits of what would be expected, so I would translate both as 'exceedingly happy' and not just 'very happy'.

You could think of 'overjoyed' this way.

Parents might be very happy if their child had good grades and got into a good college but 'overjoyed' - i.e., 'exceedingly happy' if their child got accepted by the best college in the country and was to receive a scholarship besides.

Robert's use of 'overhappy' actually makes sense now that I think of it, even if I've never heard it before.

There are many reasons to be happy, such as winning, say, $1000 in the lottery, but if someone were 'overhappy' about it - imagining that that $1000 was going to solve all his/her financial problems forever, you might begin to wonder about that person's sanity.

"go under" klingt nach einer furchtbar schlechten Übersetzung des deutschen "untergehen", aber das gibt es tatsächlich und ist lupenreines Englisch.

Hab ich gerade auf Englisch gehört: wishy-washy.

"to undertake" im Sinne von unternehmen klingt für mich ausgesprochen 6-gear-verdächtig, steht aber so im Wörterbuch.

"to not see the wood for the trees" hätte ich auch für ungebräuchlich gehalten, wenn ich es nicht selbst gelesen hätte.

Hey, Sarah,

'To undertake' is a very interesting example. 'To undertake' is a synonym for 'unternehmen; but it's not used 1:1 for 'unternehmen'.

You can 'undetake' a new venture but AE speakers would probably say to 'take on' a new venture (or challeng) or just plain say 'to start a new venture'.

An 'Unternehmen' is an 'enterprise' - i.e., we would use the French word in that case, probably not 'undertaking'.

However.....

[b}One thing which is very important to remember is that an 'undertaker' in English is a 'Leichenbestatter'.

An 'Unternehmer' on the other hand is an 'entrepreneur' - and yes, we use the French word there as well.

With regard to not seeing the wood for the trees.....

'Wood' for me (as a native AE speaker) is 'Holz' - the material, not the place where the material is found.

I understand the word 'wood' to mean 'a place with many trees' but I would probably refer to that place in the plural as 'the woods'.

The AE expression is normally 'to not see the forest for the trees', not 'to not see the wood for the trees'. BE may be different there, of course.

It's too late to be writing these entries.....

I meant for this to be bold, of course:

[b}One thing which is very important to remember is that an 'undertaker' in English is a 'Leichenbestatter' not an 'entrepreneur' - someone who takes a business risk.

And, at the top of the post:

'To undertake' is a synonym for 'unternehmen' in many cases but should not be used 1:1 for 'unternehmen'.

Hmmm....I could have sworn that I put a at the end of the sentence I meant to be bold......but I'm sure you get the idea.

My apologies if I'm overdoing this but I thought these posts would take html formatting code - e.g., the normal html code for 'bold' formatting.

I now have the impression this was a false assumption...will stick to asterisks ***** for emphasis in the future.

Klar, verstehe schon, was Du meinst.

Den Ausspruch "He wouldn't see the wood for the trees" habe ich erst kürzlich bei Tess Gerritsen (The Mephisto Club) gelesen Gerritsen ist Amerikanerin. Von daher denke ich nicht, dass die Sache mit wood/forrest in dem Fall eine AE/BE-Geschichte ist.

Ich bin vom Beruf Web Designer und dachte, das müsste mit dem Boldformattieren hier auch gehen, wird aber wohl an ein anderes Forum gedacht haben.

Jedenfalls kenne ich den Ausdruck als 'to not see the forest for the trees', nicht 'to not see the wood (oder the woods) for the trees'.

Wenn die Tess Gardener den Ausdruck so benutzt, würde ich sie natürlich schon verstehen.

Es kommt sowieso vor, daß es keine absolut feste Grenze zwischen AE und BE gibt.

Ich habe neulich in einem Paul Theroux Buch das Wort 'fossick' gelesen, ein eindeutig britisches Ausdruck. Theroux ist Amerikaner, in Massachusetts geboren, obwohl er lange in England lebte. 'To fossick' habe ich einfach als 'to rummage around' übersetzt.

'Forest' übrigens (mit einem 'r', nicht zwei) bedeutet 'Wald' wobei 'Forrest' (mit zwei 'r') ein Eigenname ist.

@lwd: LEO takes html bold and italic tags. Two options (given in reverse order so they show up):
1. close with or and open with or - add an extra space before and after if you don't want the text to get squished together.
2. highlight the text and use the pop-up Eingabehelfer

The tags didn't show up after all. Anyway, put b or i in square brackets to open and /b or /i in square brackets to close. Add the extra space before and after to keep words separate.

Hi, Robert,

Yes, that's what I thought I was doing but I see looking at #107 that the second bracket for bold was a curly one. I was probably just too tired.

I'm gonna try it again!

Let's see what happens.

Success!

Treadmill - Tretmuehle ist auch nicht schlecht...

Habe gerade nachgeschaut, ob man "realisieren" im Sinne von "in die Tat umsetzen" mit "to realize" übersetzen kann. Lat LEO kann man.

Noch einmal die komplette Liste (da ich einiges herausgenommen habe); in Zukunft werde ich nur noch die neu dazugekommenen Ausdrücke auflisten.

my better half – meine bessere Hälfte
to give up the ghost – den Geist aufgeben
to look death in the eye – dem Tod ins Auge blicken
to keep so. in the dark about sth. – jn im Dunkel lassen
to break the ice – das Eis brechen
crowned with success – von Erfolg gekrönt
to go to the dogs – vor die Hunde gehen
to hit the nail on the head – den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen
so to speak - sozusagen
to sweep sth. under the carpet – etwas unter den Teppich kehren
dog days - Hundstage
(to overwinter) – (überwintern)
(after-) run time – (Nach) Laufzeit
heartily - herzlich
to let oneself go – sich gehen lassen
findspot - Fundort
to be on the same wavelength – auf der selben Wellenlänge sein
wallflower - Mauerblümchen
to come into play – ins Spiel kommen
flame thrower - Flammenwerfer
to throw a party – eine Party schmeißen
dead tired / dog-tired – todmüde / hundemüde
midday - Mittag
(workplace) – (Arbeitsplatz)
table runner - Tischläufer
standstill - Stillstand
the offer stands – das Angebot steht
to countersign - gegenzeichnen
to foresee - vorhersehen
sick bed - Krankenbett
to ask around – herumfragen
to break in - einbrechen
to give sth. out – etwas ausgeben
(to hold out - aushalten )
so far so good – so weit, so gut
to speak volumes – Bände sprechen
forget-me-not – Vergissmeinnicht
to go under – untergehen
wishy-washy – wischiwaschi
not to see the wood (forest?) for the trees – den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen
cobbler, stick to your last – Schuster, bleib bei deinem Leisten
treadmill – Tretmühle
to realize – realisieren (in die Tat umsetzen)


Gibt´s noch mehr? Her damit!

bin gestern über "stool sample" für Stuhlprobe gestolpert

barfuss - barefoot

What happened to foolproof/idiotensicher?

Abgesehen davon, dass im Deutschen Fragen nicht mit 'to do' gebildet werden:
Siehe auch: How does that song go?

table-leg -- Tischbein

halbherzig = halfhearted

Ach, und:
todmüde = dead tired

And one more (this is fun!)
uferlos = shoreless :-)

Zeitrahmen = timeframe
Kronkorken = crown cork
Bierbauch = beer belly
Blutbad = blood bath
Hintergrund = background

Zwar nicht ein Wort, sondern eher eine Phrase, aber eine, bei der ich kaum glaubte, meinen Ohren trauen zu können, kam mir in einer TV-Dokumentation über die frühen Jahre der Beatles in die Quere: "England had still never had it so good." Das klang - von der ungewöhnlichen Wortstellung einmal abgesehen - so "deutsch", dass ich erst bei der Zweit-Ausstrahlung sicher war, mich nicht verhört zu haben.

Und zu "Pull yourself togehter!": Das habe ich zwar noch nie in "natürlicher" Umgebung gegört, wohl aber auf der Bühne. Und bei allen denkbaren Einwänden gegen das "Papierene" von Bühnensprache, der betreffende Text ironisiert zwar in einigen Passagen den Jargon von Wissenschaft und Wissenschaftsgläubigkeit, ist aber im übrigen in einigermaßen modernem Alltagsenglisch verfasst: Tom Stoppard, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

to give someone the could shoulder

eastworld, das Bild ist zwar dasselbe (:-), so was finde ich immer herrlich), aber im Deutschen zeigt man jemandem die kalte Schulter. Also nicht ganz "a true friend".

Ja... man kann ja nicht alles haben ;-)

It's "cold shoulder" (not "could"). Also ganz wie im Deutschen.

after burner = Nachbrenner (im Flugzeugtriebwerk)

...afterburner natürlich zusammengeschrieben!

@Mary: Nein, der Unterschied liegt in "give" und "zeigen", das andere war wohl nur ein Schreibfehler.

Aus einem anderen Faden (da war allerdings "Totenhemd"):

Das letzte Hemd hat keine Taschen.

The last shirt has no pockets.

update:

stool sample – Stuhlprobe
barefoot – barfuß
foolproof – idiotensicher
table-leg – Tischbein
halfhearted – halbherzig
shoreless – uferlos (Does this one really work? I doubt it… Native speakers…?)
time-frame – Zeitrahmen
crown cork – Kronkorken
beer belly – Bierbauch
blood bath – Blutbad
background – Hintergrund
work-shy – arbeitsscheu
(to give) so. the cold shoulder – jdm die kalte Schulter (zeigen)
(afterburner – Nachbrenner) – technical term
The last shirt has no pockets – Das letzte Hemd hat keine Taschen

Keep going! Nicht lockerlassen! Land it luck!

>>shoreless – uferlos (Does this one really work? I doubt it… Native speakers…?)

Well, 'shoreless' is understandable, but probably not very common. Off the top of my head I would be hard put to it to think of a context in which to use it. Maybe poetry?

I personally wouldn't put it in a list of well-known words or phrases.

I also have never heard of a crown cork or the saying about the last shirt.

And I would write

time frame
table leg
bloodbath

(-:

Natürlich sollte es cold shoulder heißen, sorry.

I recognize the name 'crown cork' - it's just not used very often. We usually call it a 'bottle cap' (if you can still find one!).

http://thebottlecapman.com/Bottle%20Caps%20So...

'Cork' because they're lined with cork and perform the functions a
cork' would in a wine bottle, 'crown' because they look (sort of) like crowns.

It is, in fact, a 'six-gear' word but not a common one.

Sorry - I meant that 'crown cork' sounds like a '6-gear word combination' but is not - it's legitimate.

I was thinking earlier about a difference between AE and BE (as I've observed it - not based on any official linguistic study).

In AE we are inclined to use Latin-derived words more often than BE speakers do.

BE speakers tend to use Anglo-Saxon-derived words, so BE is more likely to have 'non-6-gear' words, aka 'true friends'.

A few examples:

'Ausgang': AE 'exit', BE: 'Way Out' (e.g., in the underground, etc.)

'Fußgänger': AE: 'pedestrian', BE: 'walker'.

Ich habe letztens in einer Mail "forenoon" für Vormittag gelesen und dachte, das gibt es gar nicht. Gibt es laut Leo aber doch! Nun würde mich interessieren, ob es sehr ungebräuchlich ist, oder ob es sich um eine Bildungslücke meinerseits handelt.

Es gibt ja auch das foreword.

Und das "foreplay" auch ;-)

Und die "foreskin" ...

... womit wir (mal wieder) "beim Thema" wären ...

Es geht doch nix über ein gepflegtes "6-gear foreplay", oder??

;-)

gerade bei Internetrecherche im Finanzbereich gelernt:
write-downs = Abschreibungen

Um dude und carly aus einem anderen Faden zu zitieren:

To throw/toss the money out of the window

Einer meiner Favoriten (der hoffentlich noch nicht genannt wurde), auch wenn die Reihenfolge umgekehrt ist:

pussy willow - Weidenkätzchen

OT I don't want to divert attention from the purpose of this thread, but I just have to ask where I could find more information on this contrast: In AE we are inclined to use Latin-derived words more often than BE speakers do.

I'll give you "way out" lwd, but people in GB don't say "pedestrian"? They certainly have pedestrian zones, i.e. areas in towns where you can't drive. Here's a typical sign:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_precinct

Hi, SD3,

To begin with, I said that that's just my impression, that it's not based on any systematic scientific linguistic analysis.

I also never said that BE speakers never use the word 'pedestrian'.

I don't have any link handy to send you to to find more information on the assertion nor am I inclined to look for one. If you don't see it that way, fine.

A very few more examples which occur to me are that in AE we say 'domestic' whereas in BE the word is 'inland' or on a train we speak of a 'conductor' whereas the British use the word 'railway guard' (again, as I recall - I haven't been in England for twenty-five years) or we'll say 'penitentiary' where the British simply say 'prison'.

I'm not saying this for you, since your native language is English (according to your profile - I'm not sure whether AE or BE) but I find that a common misconception among non native-speakers is that AE and BE words are mutually exclusive and not used on both sides of the Atlantic.

If a Britisher here asked me where the underground is, I'd know he meant what I would refer to as the subway. If I asked where the subway might be in London, I'm sure any Londoner would know I meant the Underground.

Another example - in AE we say 'commuter' (as it refers to a train commuter), in BE people would talk about a 'season-ticket holder'.

How about 'transmission' versus 'gear box'? Or 'dying of hypothermia' versus simply 'freezing to death'?

Nevertheless, if you find this thought completely wrong, that's perfectly fine with me. I have no intention of arguing the point.

OT again Hi lwd: Please don't misunderstand - it was just an inquiry, I actually have an open mind on this subject even though, after 20-odd years of regularly crossing the Atlantic and having lived on both sides of it, I have not made the same observation as you.

The next time I post here, it will be with a suggestion for the list. I was thinking of abblasen/to blow off, as in a date or an appointment, but I'm not sure if it really works. (In addition, I'm not sure if the English is used in GB in this sense.)

Leider auch OT, re ## 151/152
Another example - in AE we say 'commuter' (as it refers to a train commuter), in BE people would talk about a 'season-ticket holder'

Da ich mit AE relativ wenig zu tun habe (außer Büchern und gelegentlichen Gesprächen) ist mir obige Vermutung komisch vorgekommen. Hab mal nur die BBC-Seite gecheckt: 500 Seiten für 'commuter' und ein einziger Treffer für 'season-ticket-holder'. (Ist natürlich auch nicht repräsentativ)
'Season-ticket-holder' scheint mehr in den Druckwerken von Verkehrsbetrieben aufzutauchen, bzw. wenn auf unterschiedliche Tarife rekurriert wird. Und es heißt auch 'commuter trains', nicht 'season-ticket-holder trains'. Sind Autofahrer im AE keine 'commuter'?
Und Leo macht auch keine Einschränkungen:
Siehe Wörterbuch: commuter

Möchte SD3 unterstützen: 'pedestrian crossing' z.B. ist mE kein amerikanischer Import.
Vielleicht wird 'domestic' für unterschiedliche Bereiche benutzt, aber das Wort an sich ist natürlich auch BE (lass mich gern korrigieren).

Gross Domestic Product/ domestic violence

Und 'conductor' wird vielleicht unterschiedlich gebraucht, aber es existiert als BE-Wort (meine erste Assoziation sind die herrlichen alten Busse).

Ich hab noch eins: breakthrough - Durchbruch :-)

I guess I'll try this again.

My point has never been that there's not a significant overlap, only that my impressions (which may or may not be backed up by a linguistic study somewhere) are that it's the case.

I have never said that, for instance, that 'domestic' is not used in BE but I'd say it would be rare in the US that someone would say 'inland'. I'd say Americans would be more inclined to say 'domestic' violence and BE speakers would be more inclined to say 'violence in the home'.

I'd also say that we'd (in AE) tend to say 'accelerate' for 'speed up' and 'decelerate' for 'slow down' more often than BE speakers would or 'cooperate' for 'work together'.

What else? 'Suppress' in AE, 'put down' in BE.

All depending on the context, of course, not universally the case, not exclusive, fully without academic proof.

'Discuss' instead of 'talk about' perhaps? 'Congenial' instead of 'pleasant'?

If this has never struck anyone else then I may be completely off base. I happen to think that, as I perceive it, British preference for Anglo-Saxon over Latin-based words is far more natural. As an AE native speaker, I still prefer 'pleasant' to 'congenial'.

Have we had this one yet?

Hörensagen - hearsay

#151 lwd:
lwd> If a Britisher here asked me where the
lwd> underground is, I'd know he meant what
lwd> I would refer to as the subway. If I
lwd> asked where the subway might be in London,
lwd> I'm sure any Londoner would know I meant
lwd> the Underground.

Aber gibt es nicht immer wieder in London am Trafalgar Square etwas irritierte Touristen, die vergeblich die U-Bahn in den Unterf"uhrung sichen, die mit ``Subway'' angeschrieben ist?

Well, I haven't been in Trafalgar Square for a long time, wwi, so I have to assume that your mention of irritated tourists searching in vain for the subway is an attempt at humor at the costs of American travelers to London if you're maintaining there's a transit passage under one of the streets bordering the square marked by an advertisement for the Subway sandwich shop chain? Is that it?

Any tourist in London knows that the subsurface rail system is called the Underground. That's probably how he/she got to Trafalgar Square in the first place.

Additionally, however, the British are courteous enough to put 'subway' twice on the signs leading to the Underground (on Trafalgar Square at least) as you can see here:

http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/image64940-.html

since many foreigners learning English learn AE and thus would probably learn the word 'subway' instead of 'underground' - in other words, no one would be searching for the Underground in vain.

The vast majority of AE/BE words can be understood - and are used in the same sense - by English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. The difference is preference for one variant or the other.

In the US we use the word 'gasoline' for 'Benzin' while the British use the word 'petrol' - but any Britisher trying to find 'petrol' here would simply be directed to the nearest gasoline station.

@lwd: I hate to disappoint you here, but this is an instance in which AE and BE truly differ. That sign isn't posted for the sake of tourists. "Subway" here means an underground pedestrian passage that allows pedestrians to cross from one side of the street without worrying about traffic. This is also an entrance to the Underground (or Tube). There are other underground passages marked "Subway" that do not connect to the Underground. A subway might even be for motor vehicles. Here are a couple of links to pictures:

http://yuricle.tululuka.net/photo/series/sign... - a "weak subway"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenwood100/155... - an elephant subway sign to help avoid the double roundabout at Elephant and Castle (not connected to Underground)

Here's an article about "subway art" in Birmingham, England, which doesn't have an underground transportation system. It's pretty obvious that "subway" doesn't mean the same thing in BE that it means in AE.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/jul/29...

Thanks, Robert,

As I mentioned, I have not been in London for a long time, probably 20 years, and never had any problems finding the Underground nor would I myself have asked where the subway was, but I can see that in the case of a sign like that leading both to an underground pedestrian passage and to the actual Underground entrance, the word 'subway' for a non-Underground-connected passage might cause confusion in some tourists.

The only sense I could make of wwi's reference is that there might be a sign in Trafalgar Square to the sandwich shop (which is well-represented in Britain, according to its website) although I could fine none in the pictures I looked at.

Your explanation makes much more sense than wwi's post since 'Subway' was written in upper case.

I have a jacket on - ich habe eine Jacke an

Wenn ich es nicht schon des öfteren gehört (z.B. "Man in Black" von J.C.) oder gelesen hätte, würde ich es für eine 6-gear-Konstruktion halten ...

Bin heute über reanimate = reanimieren gestolpert...

...und da fällt mir noch eins ein:

the daydream or to daydream :)

Eben per E-Mail aus Kanada bekommen:

I hope that this helps -> Ich hoffe dass dies hilft

Dachte immer dass man das "that" weglässt, aber man lernt nie aus ;-)

Der Löwe sagt:

green with envy = grün vor Neid

(Bis auf den with/vor-Unterschied interessanterweise das gleiche Bild!)

Der folgende Text

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/amy_macdon...

schien mir immer etwas 6-gearish, wegen 'youth of today'.

Seefahrer - Seafarer

Siehe Wörterbuch: seafarer

die Idee dahinter - the idea behind it

Just read this in a piece on change management in the SZ:
Die Idee dahinter ist, dass Mitarbeiter im Chaos des Wandels dazu neigen...

"The idea behind it" is pretty common in English. Is "die Idee dahinter" acceptable German?

Justamente gelesen:
"unbepissed" (not having been urinated on)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7654511.stm

@ SD3

Ja, ich finde die Idee dahinter ist akzeptabel, wenn auch eher etwas Alltagsdeutsch. Aber ich fände es z.B. auch in Vorlesungen noch ok.
Wenn es allerdings um einen Berufungsvortag gehen würde, würde ich doch eher 'der (dem folgenden) zugrunde liegende Gedanke' sagen.

I was going to try to contribute to this link,but i caught myself on.

@Ingeborg

#171: Thanks for the feedback. So for me - starting point being English - that would be an example of a German expression that sounds 6-gear but isn't necessarily.

#170: Interesting article, but what's that in German, and why did you pick that word and not, for example, psithurism? ;-)

@ SD3 #173

Wenn "unbepissed" auch kein direktes Äquivalent hat ("unbepisst" würde wohl niemand sagen), so klingt doch der Wortaufbau sehr Deutsch.
Hätte ich das Wort in einem anderen Text gelesen, hätte ich angenommen, dass es ein Fehler sei und von einem Deutschen gebildet worden wäre. Bei den anderen Wörtern spielte das keine Rolle.

@Ingeborg:

Yes, you're right, it is in keeping with the theme of the thread.

"unbepisst" würde wohl niemand sagen That's exactly what I thought about "unbepissed", but I guess someone must have or it wouldn't be in the OED. (At least I hope that's true. I actually have no idea how words get included in the OED.) It did make me think of another Germanic word though, "unbeknownst", which I think is a great word just from the sound of it. It looks pretty interesting, too - implausibly weird almost to modern English eyes. Pity there's no "beknownst".

Am currently writing an assignment paper for a British degree...and came across an expression which - I was pretty sure - sounds 6-gear.

But after checking Leo and OALD....it's not 6-gear! o_O


"für etw./jdn. sprechen" i.S.v. "Der Begriff spricht für sich selbst"

"to speak for sth./so." -----> "The term speak for itself"

*schnell ein kleines s für speak reinwerf*

2nd update

thought-reader – Gedankenleser
flea market – Flohmarkt
green with envy – grün vor Neid
daydream – Tagtraum
to have on – anhaben
from hearsay – vom Hörensagen
breakthrough – Durchbruch
pussy willow – Weidenkätzchen
write-down – Abschreibung
foreplay – Vorspiel
foreskin – Vorhaut
foreword – Vorwort
seafarer – Seefahrer
through and through – durch und durch
it speaks for itself – es spricht für sich selbst

this is out of the question hört sich doch 6-gear an

to be in the picture im Bilde sein

beer belly - Bierbauch

Echt, Plyglotta? This doesn't come at all into the question wäre wirklich 6-gear. :-)

I have to add my mustard ;)

Vielleicht kennen nicht viele den Ausdruck - tuschen (nicht duschen) Lass es tuschen heißt soviel wie "Gib Gas!".

Und das wollte wohl ein Skilehrer sagen als er zu seinem Skischüler sagte: "Let it shower..."

oh oh! Wenn das mal nicht jemand falsch verstanden hat!

Nobody makes me my very good English so easy after - have I thought. - So wrong can one be !!

Nobody makes me my very good English so easy after - have I thought. - So wrong can one be !!

That was obviously a double-click. It does me very sorry.

Heidi: Du meintest: So wrong can one lie - oder? ;-)

Tjaja, errors over errors and no end in sight.

Vielleicht, aber der Satz #189 ist 100% korrektes Englisch (bis auf das Tjaja) wenn ich mich nicht sehr täusche.

Wind me not up, you. -
What will we make when the english speakers play the same play with us poor little Germans. I hope they give up when they have read the first few words in this thread.
(Ich wollte sagen: Hör' auf der Stelle auf mich aufzuziehen - aber das wird definitiv zu arg!)

Heidi, lies doch mal das Eingangsposting! Dies ist kein Faden für 6-gear English!

Entschuldigung, v, ich hatte auf 183 reagiert (I have to add my mustard ;) und ab da war's nur lustig. Bis zum ersten posting bin ich gar nicht gekommen.

Naja, ich finde einen Faden zu kapern und sich noch nicht mal die Mühe zu machen, die Überschrift zu lesen, eher "nur unhöflich" als "nur lustig", aber vielleicht sehen das manche anders.

Und ich finde eine höfliche Aufforderung, vielleicht einen eigenen six-gear-English-Faden zu eröffnen oder auszugraben um einiges charmanter und einem Höflichkeits-Einforderer gerechter.

Naja, ich wusste ja, dass das KEIN 6-gear English Faden ist und es war überhaupt nicht meine Absicht unhöflich zu sein (@194). Heidis Kommentare bezogen sich auf meinen Mist (und ich finde sie gelungen). War mir nur gerade so eingefallen.

Deshalb möchte ich mich in aller Form entschuldigen und hoffe, dass dies angenommen wird. Werde mein Piratendasein etwas zügeln ;)

#190: In all this back and forth I'm not sure if you're serious, but if you are, you would have to say "error upon error" not "errors over errors".

I like weakling = Schwächling!

Bei (en) "muskellunge" dachte ich auch sofort an diesen Faden.
Also Sachen gibts!?





(de: "der Muskellunge", ein Fisch)

To get cold feet - kalte Füße kriegen (Have we had that yet?)

Um bei Habe gerade zu meinem Freund gesagt "I am all ears, as the Germans would say" - und stellte fest, dass man das auf Englisch auch so sagt.

Ladygrey: Except that "ganz Ohr" uses the singular rather than the plural....

Ja, da hast Du Recht, Mary. Entweder ich habe es instinktiv richtig gemacht, oder er hat mich auch so verstanden.

To drink someone under the table...

Durch einen anderen Faden drauf gestoßen:

the root of all evil - die Wurzel allen Übels

Wie wär's mit seaman?

Cheers, C.

@205: That one isn't too surprising, since both are based on the same original - 1 Timothy 6:10
-For the love of money is the root of all evil: (KJV)
-Denn Geiz ist eine Wurzel alles Übels; (Lutherbibel 1545)

@ 207

Die Redewendung heißt heute aber mW "die Wurzel ...".

Das mit der gemeinsamen Quelle ist für mich auch noch nicht gebongt. Wer sagt denn, dass es die Redewendungen nicht schon vor den jeweiligen Bibelübersetzungen gab? Und welches Bild lag dem Original zugrunde (griechisch, hebräisch, aramäisch - keine Ahnung welcher Textteil in welcher Sprache war)?

Und genau genommen müsste dann ja die ganze Bibel 6-gear-mäßig klingen, es aber nicht sein, "weil sie doch dieselbe Quelle haben" [;-)].

Ich hab es auch erst für 'nen Scherz gehalten, es stimmt aber tatsächlich:

Einschaltstrombegrenzer - inrush current limiter

Cool ist auch:

-bar stool = Barhocker
-halter top = Trägertop

Danielle, die Wörter hast Du jetzt aber genannt, weil sie sich so deutsch anhören, oder? Richtige six-gear Wörter, also Wörter, die sich so wörtlich übersetzt anhören, dass sie wie falsch übersetzt klingen, sind es nicht. Dann müssten die deutschen Wörter Barstuhl und Haltertop heißen.

@#208:
-Okay, I don't understand "gebongt".
-eine/die Wurzel . . . na und? I imagine lots of sayings have changed over the course of time; I can point to several in English.
-The original is Greek; according to Random House Dictionary of Proverbs and Sayings the phrase first appears in English around 1000 AD and derives from the Bible passage I cited (1 Tim. 6:10). So, you can postulate one of three things: 1) the phrase entered English through the Bible but originated in German independent of either English or the Bible; 2) the phrase entered English through the Bible and then was borrowed by German, so it really is a 6-gear phrase; 3) the phrase entered both languages through the Bible. I think option 3 is the most likely.
-The Bible, in both English and German, was an influential book; much of what we say and how we say it in both languages has been influenced by the Bible in the vernacular. So, there may be more that would have sounded 6-gear to a speaker in the 1000s - 1600s than to us. However, there are various principles involved in translation, and the English Bible and German Bible had different origins. The KJV was translated by a committee, which has advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the committee had a number of prior translations with which to compare their work: Tyndale, Coverdale, Bishops Bible (to name just three). Furthermore, the KJV was working with a fairly well-established language (Shakespeare had already written many of his plays). The aim was for a literary translation that could be used in public reading in churches. Luther was working alone and putting the finishing touches on the creation of a new language (already forged in the chanceries of the HRE) and intended to write a more down-to-earth translation that anyone could read; he looked for powerful figures of speech and word pictures, and even created a few himself. In addition, whenever translating any work there is a tension between staying true to the original to the point of woodenness or even incomprehensibility in the target language* ("literal") and getting the main idea across vividly and comprehensibly ("dynamic equivalents"). Add to this misunderstandings of the original text, guesses at what rare words mean, and attempts to translate essentially untranslatable elements in one language into another, and you can get two very different versions of a work, even within the same language let alone between two different languages; you can compare some of the versions in German to see what can happen in translation (Luther, Schlachter, Elberfelder, Hoffnung für Alle - just to name four). Thus no, the Bible won't necessarily sound 6-gear throughout.

Oh, BTW, which sounded 6-gear to you? The English or the German?

*An example of this may be seen in the translation of the Bible into Sango (a language in Central Africa). Micah 7:19 says that God will cast sins "into the depths of the sea" (und alle unsre Sünden in die Tiefen des Meeres werfen). That is an image that means something to someone connected with the sea (both England and German were seafaring nations). It is meaningless to a Central African, who has never seen the sea and has no concept of its size. However, the central idea is that of getting rid of sins permanently. In Central Africa, the grass in places grows taller than a person, and if something is dropped into that grass it can be lost forever. So, the decision for one version of the Bible in Sango was to translate it "God will throw our sins into the tall grass".

rockwool - Steinwolle

Heute habe ich in einem Buch von "bedroom eyes" gelesen...

obwohl das ja im Deutschen Schlafzimmerblick heißt...

Man sagt aber doch auch "jemand hat Schlafzimmeraugen", oder?
Hihi, dafür habe ich gerade auch in einem online dictionary "come-to-bed eyes" gelesen. Auch nett... :o)

Echt? Schlafzimmeraugen kannte ich bisher nicht.

Hatten wir schon Außenbordmotor - Outboard motor

Finde ich immer zu schön, um wahr zu sein, too beautiful to be true ;-)

A new broom sweeps clean. (Ok, ich weiß, auf Deutsch ist das Mehrzahl.)
A friend of mine was astounded once that English used the same expression.

to make out (a sound) - ein Geräusch ausmachen.

3rd update:

What has come over you? – Was ist über dich gekommen?
to make out a sound – ein Geräusch ausmachen
A new broom sweeps clean – Neue Besen kehren gut.
ouboard motor – Außenbordmotor
bedroom eyes – Schlafzimmeraugen
rock wool – Steinwolle
seaman – Seemann
the root of all evil – die Wurzel allen Übels
to drink someone under the table – jemanden unter den Tisch trinken
to be all ears – ganz Ohr sein
to get cold feet – kalte Füße kriegen
weakling – Schwächling
beer belly – Bierbauch
to be in the picture – im Bilde sein

Keep going!

Question on "a new broom sweeps clean":

As I learned the saying, it continues: "but an old one knows the corners"
Does the German have a similar addendum?

Yes indeed, we say: "... aber die alten kennen die Ecken / Winkel (besser)."

Eine Wiederbelebungsmaßnahme...

to fall into the wrong hands - in die falschen Hände fallen/geraten

Auch wenn viele es nicht für richtig halten, wie z.B. # 14, aber in "Spread your wings" von Queen (Auf "News of the world") heißt es in einer Zeile
"Pull yourself together, cos you kwow you should do better ..."
Also denke ich mal
pull yourself together gibt es auch, egal wie falsch es sich anhört, oder?

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Spread...

Ja, ml, das gibt es, siehe Eintrag #9.

Ops, sorry! I didn't see that one.

to have another iron in the fire - noch ein Eisen im Feuer haben

tea light - Teelicht
wurde noch nicht genannt.

peas counter

Erbsenzähler

Schlonso, as far as I know it´s bean counter, so it would not qualify as a "true friend".

Ich fand standstill/Stillstand immer schön.

ist mir gerade in einem Interview über den Weg gelaufen:
to overshadow - überschatten