I know it's not the same, but... Mae West used to say: I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.

Sorry, sammy, that's way off and has nothing to do with the German term.
I don't think the German is translatable at all since "er ist nicht ganz dicht" for s.o. short a few fries of a happy meal is not present in the English language.

Second Werner. Sorry, sammy, IMHO this German play on words is untranslatable.

someone who is open for anything might be dense nevertheless.

nicht so ganz untranslatable imho

ido omin: Wrong also. Just the contrary of what the German term says.

Not as nice a play on words but...

"I think it's good to have an open mind, but it's not good to have a mind so open that your brain falls out."

-Christopher Kilmartin-

Or more succinctly:

If you keep an open mind, your brains will fall out.

more succinctly, less correctly :(

Werner,

musst du lesen mit Verstand, dann du siehst: ist das, was das Englische sagt.
However, Merry Xmas to you.

I am not aware of any English or American phrase like that but sth. will exits , which is comparable, I sure. in terms of meaning you might translate it as:ell, maybe we can go the terms as above:

"Nicht ganz dicht sein" means methathorically speaking, "to be stupid" but in a way of being to risky, to open for anyhting to happen, embraching things without ahaving a clue for the consequences

"offen sein" is generally, of course, positive, to be open for things but "being too opnen" means you do not evaluate your surroundings anymore, which is cobnsdiered to be stupid.

By using that phrasing you go back to the oprignal meaning of dicht, which could be "dense" but also complettely closed of, like a jar of jelly, etc.



mike

Nice explanation, but the translation is not correct, and was thus not worth to exhume a thread which was put to rest almost two years ago. "Ist nicht ganz dicht" does not imply at all that such a persion asks for trouble.

What about:
#7 - If you are too open-minded your brain might fall out.

or: If you are too open-minded you might lose your brain.

OT but not completely:

Edith Sitwell once said some thing like "Of course I'm cracked (slightly mentally ill plus its usual meaning), it's where the light gets in"

... und Helmut Schmidt hat mal gesagt: 'Wer Visionen hat braucht einen Psychiater'
(oder so) . . .

... und Helmut Schmidt hat mal gesagt: 'Wer Visionen hat braucht einen Psychiater'
(oder: '... sollte zum Arzt gehen') . . . ;-)

I have heard the following for "nicht ganz dicht sein":.... must have taken leave of his senses.

"he who's open to everything must have something wrong with him "


fände ich jetzt schon ähnlich.

LG

If you're open to anything, you've obviously flipped your lid.

I'd say.