17 German idioms explained: literal meaning and origin
German idioms are small pictures: a goat as gardener, tomatoes on your eyes, a devil painted on the wall. Translated word for word they make no sense, and that is half the fun. Here is what each one says literally, what it means, the closest English idiom and where it comes from.
All of them come from gutgesagt, an app for people who already speak German very well.
den Bock zum Gärtner machen
Literally: to make the billy goat the gardener
To give a job to exactly the person most likely to ruin it. In English: to put the fox in charge of the henhouse.
A goat eats everything green. Whoever makes it the gardener has hired the worst possible candidate. The image goes back to the 16th century.
Den Naschkater zum Hüter der Keksdose zu ernennen hieße, den Bock zum Gärtner zu machen.
Putting the cookie thief in charge of the cookie jar would be making the goat the gardener.
die Katze im Sack kaufen
Literally: to buy the cat in the sack
To buy or agree to something without checking it first. In English: to buy a pig in a poke.
At markets, piglets and hares were sold in sacks. Swindlers put a worthless cat in instead. Whoever opened the sack let the cat out of the bag, which German has too: die Katze aus dem Sack lassen.
Ohne Probefahrt? Ich kaufe doch nicht die Katze im Sack.
Without a test drive? I’m not buying a pig in a poke.
Tomaten auf den Augen haben
Literally: to have tomatoes on your eyes
To miss something obvious. Casual and a little cheeky.
Probably from swollen, red eyelids, like those of someone who has just woken up and doesn’t see much yet.
Clark Kent setzt eine Brille auf, und niemand beim ‚Daily Planet‘ erkennt in ihm Superman: Die ganze Redaktion hat Tomaten auf den Augen.
Clark Kent puts on glasses and nobody at the Daily Planet recognizes Superman. The whole newsroom has tomatoes on its eyes.
um den heißen Brei herumreden
Literally: to talk around the hot porridge
To avoid saying the difficult thing. In English: to beat around the bush.
A cat circles a bowl of hot porridge: it wants to eat but doesn’t want to burn its mouth. The full old form was “like the cat around the hot porridge”.
Statt um den heißen Brei herumzureden, fragte sie direkt nach dem Gehalt.
Instead of beating around the bush, she asked straight out about the salary.
auf dem Holzweg sein
Literally: to be on the timber track
To be completely wrong about something. In English: to be barking up the wrong tree.
A Holzweg was a track that led into the forest only for hauling timber, and simply ended among the tree stumps. Whoever took it for a road got lost. The image has meant a mistake since the 15th century.
Wer glaubt, Stiere würden vom Rot des Tuchs wild, ist auf dem Holzweg: Sie reagieren auf die Bewegung.
If you think bulls go wild at the red cloth, you’re barking up the wrong tree. They react to the movement.
die Flinte ins Korn werfen
Literally: to throw the rifle into the grain
To give up too soon. In English: to throw in the towel.
A soldier who gave up threw his rifle into the cornfield so he could run away faster. The image dates from the 17th century.
Nach zwei Absagen wollte er die Flinte ins Korn werfen, die dritte Bewerbung saß.
After two rejections he was ready to throw in the towel. The third application worked.
von Pontius zu Pilatus laufen
Literally: to run from Pontius to Pilate
To be sent from one office to the next, usually for nothing. In English: to get the runaround.
Pontius Pilate was one and the same man. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is sent from Pilate to Herod and back again, and popular speech turned the one name into two stops.
Für einen neuen Reisepass lief er von Pontius zu Pilatus: Bürgeramt, Fotostudio, wieder Bürgeramt.
For a new passport he got the runaround: the citizens’ office, the photo studio, the citizens’ office again.
ins Fettnäpfchen treten
Literally: to step into the little pot of grease
To say or do something awkward. In English: to put your foot in it.
In old farmhouses, a pot of grease for waterproofing boots stood by the door. Step into it and you dirtied the floor and annoyed the household.
Mit dem Lob für das Catering trat er ins Fettnäpfchen: Die Chefin hatte selbst gekocht.
Praising the caterer, he put his foot in it. The boss had cooked herself.
einen Bärendienst erweisen
Literally: to do someone a bear’s service
To mean well and do harm. In English: to do someone a disservice, only with better intentions.
From a fable by La Fontaine (1678): a bear wants to chase a fly off his sleeping friend’s face, throws a stone and kills the friend.
Die Nachbarin goss seine Kakteen im Urlaub jeden Tag und erwies ihm damit einen Bärendienst: Sie sind alle verfault.
While he was away, the neighbor watered his cacti every day. A bear’s service: they all rotted.
etwas auf dem Kerbholz haben
Literally: to have something on the tally stick
To have done something wrong, usually said with a wink.
Before written accounts, debts were notched into a stick that was then split lengthwise. Creditor and debtor each kept half, and only both halves together proved the debt. Many notches meant many debts, and later many misdeeds.
Der Kater hat einiges auf dem Kerbholz: zwei zerbrochene Vasen und ein verschwundenes Schnitzel.
The cat has quite a record: two broken vases and a missing schnitzel.
Perlen vor die Säue werfen
Literally: to throw pearls before the sows
To waste something precious on people who can’t appreciate it. English has the same image: pearls before swine.
From the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:6.
Den dreißig Jahre alten Whisky im Cocktail? Perlen vor die Säue.
Thirty-year-old whisky in a cocktail? Pearls before swine.
Nägel mit Köpfen machen
Literally: to make nails with heads
To do something properly and for good. No half measures.
A nail without a head doesn’t hold: the board slides right over it. Only the head makes the work last.
Nach acht Jahren Beziehung machten sie Nägel mit Köpfen und buchten das Standesamt.
After eight years together they made it official and booked the registry office.
den Teufel an die Wand malen
Literally: to paint the devil on the wall
To imagine the worst and say it out loud.
An old superstition: whoever names or paints the devil summons him. Even picturing disaster could make it happen.
Ein bisschen Wind, und schon malte er den Teufel an die Wand: Die Fähre werde bestimmt kentern.
A little wind, and he was already painting the devil on the wall: the ferry was sure to capsize.
aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen
Literally: to make an elephant out of a mosquito
To blow a small thing out of all proportion. In English: to make a mountain out of a molehill.
The Greek satirist Lucian ended his “Praise of the Fly” by saying he had made an elephant out of a fly. Through Erasmus of Rotterdam the image spread across Europe. German chose the mosquito.
Es ist ein Kratzer im Lack, mach doch aus einer Mücke keinen Elefanten.
It’s a scratch in the paint. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
unter aller Kanone
Literally: below every cannon
Dreadful, of miserable quality.
Nothing to do with guns. The Kanone here is the Latin canon, a standard. School Latin “sub omni canone”, below every standard, was Germanized, and the canon became a cannon.
Der Kaffee im Speisewagen war unter aller Kanone, der Blick auf die Alpen dafür grandios.
The coffee in the dining car was dreadful. The view of the Alps made up for it.
alles in Butter
Literally: everything in butter
Everything is fine. Said with relief after a small scare.
The usual explanation: in the Middle Ages, fragile glassware was set in melted butter for the journey across the Alps. Once the butter was firm, nothing could break.
Der Zug hatte Verspätung, den Anschluss erwischten wir trotzdem: alles in Butter.
The train was late, but we made our connection anyway. All good.
Hals- und Beinbruch
Literally: neck and leg break
Good luck, before an exam, a premiere or an interview. In English: break a leg.
Probably from the Yiddish “hazlóche un bróche”, luck and blessing. German ears heard neck and leg break, and the blessing turned into a cheerful threat.
Italienische Opernsänger wünschen sich vor dem Auftritt „In bocca al lupo“, ins Maul des Wolfes, so wie wir uns Hals- und Beinbruch wünschen.
Before going on stage, Italian opera singers wish each other “in bocca al lupo”, into the wolf’s mouth, the way Germans say Hals- und Beinbruch.
Questions
What is the German equivalent of break a leg?
Hals- und Beinbruch, literally neck and leg break. It probably comes from the Yiddish “hazlóche un bróche”, luck and blessing.
How do I learn German idioms?
In context and with their story. An idiom you can picture literally and whose origin you know is easier to remember and to use correctly. Then use it yourself, in a sentence of your own.
More: German words with no English equivalent · Advanced German vocabulary (C1/C2) · What is gutgesagt?