Painting pictures with language and
bringing words to life

Phrases, sayings and figures of speech slide seamlessly into our vocabulary. Hardly a day goes by without us using them. And that’s the way it’s always been. Let’s have a closer look at the language we use.

Idioms and expressions have always been a part of the language people use. We often rely on them to creatively convey a complex concept. And they often draw comparisons that don’t seem all that logical to start with. They paint vivid pictures and bring our everyday communications to life with word play. They can be ethical or ironic, trivial or artistic, inspired by war or peace. But what do they mean and where do they come from? Let’s work in chronological order and start with the Ancient Greeks.

Phrases – I’ve fallen out of all clouds

“Ich bin aus allen Wolken gefallen” – the literal translation of this German idiom is “I’ve fallen out of all clouds”. It’s used to express surprise at a situation. So where does it come from? It goes all the way back to the comic playwright Aristophanes, who was born in Classical Athens in 445 BC. In his comedy ‘The Birds’, he wrote about an imaginary place in the clouds called Cloud Cuckoo Land. So if you fall out of the clouds, you’re leaving a dream world behind and landing back in reality. 

“Eulen nach Athen tragen” – this phrase literally means “bringing owls to Athens”. You’ll hear it used to refer to something that’s entirely unnecessary. This is another idiom with its origin in ‘The Birds’ by Aristophanes. In Greek mythology, owls are associated with wisdom. As a result, Athens was full of statues and images of owls. So there really was no need whatsoever to bring owls to Athens. Another theory suggests that this phrase is inspired by the coins that would have been used in Athens. If you look at a Greek euro coin now, you’ll see a little owl. The old silver coins in Classical Athens had the same symbol, so they became known as ‘Owls’. There were more than enough of those in affluent Athens. And so the people of Athens, who had very little tax to pay in those days, were of the opinion that it would have been pointless to bring more money, or more ‘Owls’, to their city.

“Etwas aus dem Effeff können” literally “knowing something from the ff”, is all about having something down to a science or knowing something inside out. The German phrase dates back 1,500 years to the Pandects (meaning all-embracing), a compendium of writings on Roman law. The Greek letter pi was used to refer to the Pandects in shorthand. When the letter was scribbled out quickly, it often looked like the lower-case letter ‘f’ twice in a row. And so the abbreviation ‘ff’ ended up being used for the legal compendium. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman laws and the ‘ff’ remained and served as the foundation for the legal systems in the new European countries. The Pandects are an example of established knowledge that has been around for centuries. If something comes from the ‘ff’, you can rely on it to be correct. These days, in German, if someone knows something from the ff, they’re a genuine specialist with proper expertise.

“Jemandem die Leviten lesen” has been used in German since the 8th century. Meaning to give someone a strict talking to, the literal translation is to “read someone the Levites”. This phrase comes from the third book of Moses, Leviticus. When it was deemed necessary to remind the clergy of the rules of conduct, the bishop would read the relevant passages out to the Benedictine monks. These mostly covered warnings and punishments. 

Phrases – Not coming upon a green branch

“Auf keinen grünen Zweig kommen” literally means “not coming upon a green branch”. A fresh green branch is a symbol of success, triumph, progress and growth. If you don’t come upon one, you’re not getting anywhere. The German phrase can be traced all the way back to the 15th century. Later, it became a tradition to give people a single green branch when they bought a plot of land. The idea was that good spirits would bring them wealth and recognition. Anyone who didn’t manage to buy a plot of land, never got a green branch either. Have you noticed that the colour green crops up in a lot of phrases in English too? You can be green around the gills and green with envy. You can have green fingers. The grass is always greener!

“Alles in Butter” means that “everything is in butter”. In other words, things are going smoothly. This is one of many German sayings that date back to the Middle Ages, a time when valuable Italian glass was transported north from Italy via the Alps. Unfortunately, there were a lot of breakages on the horse-drawn carriages. That is, until one clever trader had an idea. He put the glass in barrels and poured in hot melted butter. Once it had cooled down, the butter acted as a protective layer. Even if one of the barrels fell off the carriage, the glass would remain intact because everything was in butter.

“Hinz und Kunz” have been around for many centuries. The German refers to two traditional boys’ names – Heinrich and Konrad. They were both highly popular during the Middle Ages and so were the associated nicknames, Hinz and Kunz. Back then and to this day, “Hinz und Kunz” has been a less-than-respectful way to refer to just about anybody or any Tom, Dick and Harry. 

“Lieber den Spatz in der Hand als die Taube auf dem Dach” literally means “better the sparrow in the hand than the pigeon on the roof”. In other words, it’s better to appreciate what you already have – no matter how small – than risk it for something bigger and better. This saying has been around in German since the 19th century. And do we have an English version? Of course we do! We still have birds, but they’re a bit less specific: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. How about the English phrase “out of the blue”, which we use to express that something has happened completely unexpectedly and without warning? The German equivalent is “out of a clear sky” or “Aus heiterem Himmel”. It’s not all that common for translators to find such direct translations for figures of speech. That often comes down to their cultural and regional influences. Coming up with the perfect translation is no mean feat. Or maybe we should say that it’s a hard nut to crack! Let’s look at some regional examples next...

If you hear someone say “Chasch mer am Ranze hange” in Switzerland, you know they’re fed up and they’ve had enough. Another example is “Blas mer id Schueh” or “Blow into my shoes”. Translation? Get lost! Or leave me alone! 

Phrases – Hit the nail on the head

“Ich zeig dir, wo der Barthel den Most holt” or “Ich zeig dir, wo de Bartli de Most holt” is a phrase that you’ll only hear in the south of the German-speaking world. ‘Barthel/Bartli’ sounds like a man’s name but it’s actually Yiddish for crowbar. And ‘Most’ is another Yiddish word that means money. Put together, the saying means “I’ll show you what’s what”. And when you do that, you might just hit the nail on the head.

“Das isch alles für d’Füchs” or “Das ist alles für die Katz” means “it’s all for the cat”. In other words, something has been all for nothing or in vain. And now we’re onto animals. Some of the most creative sayings relate to animals and their characteristics. There are so many animal-inspired idioms in German and English.

You can be a wolf in sheep’s clothing or count your chickens before they hatch. Will you kill two birds with one stone, let sleeping dogs lie or end up letting the cat out of the bag? You can cry crocodile tears until the cows come home. Hold your horses! Has the cat got your tongue? Are you as stubborn as a mule? Or maybe you’re like a fish out of water? You can be happy as a pig in mud, busy as a bee or free as a bird. Don’t forget that the early bird catches the worm. Best be a bat out of hell. Just make sure you’re not a bull in a china shop or putting the cart before the horse. Now, is it tipping it down outside? Or is it raining cats and dogs? Don’t overthink that one or you’ll end up laughing like a hyena!

Living language – what’s new?

Language is constantly changing. That means new idioms are coming up all the time, with each generation making their own contributions. So what’s new? Inspired by more modern technology, something is “on our radar” if we’re giving it our attention. In German, “Das ist ganz grosses Kino” literally means that something is “really big cinema”. High praise indeed when we’re suitably impressed. If you have no clue what FOMO and YOLO mean, we can safely say that you’re not Gen Z. But that’s no cause for FOMO!  

Do you have any questions or are you interested in working with us?

I would be happy to answer your questions or introduce you to Apostroph Group and our services in a personal meeting.
Nadia Gaille
Head of Customer Success

Would you like to receive regular updates on new customer projects and news about Apostroph?

In our newsletter, we will surprise you with articles that are as informative as they are entertaining. We would be delighted to welcome you to our community of 30,000 newsletter followers.

Achieving goals together

  • Your projects in the best hands

    We work with single points of contact. As a result, you will be looked after by a highly experienced contact person who takes your needs into account and keeps you up to date at all times.
  • A spirit of partnership

    We have long-standing partnerships with many of our clients. In addition to quality, they appreciate our values such as reliability, transparency and fairness.
  • Certified security

    Both our information security and our quality management are ISO certified, which guarantees secure processes.