Jan 2, 2013 18:19
11 yrs ago
7 viewers *
German term
ich glaube, mein Schwein pfeift
German to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Do we have an equally colourful expression in BEnglish? Something better than e.g.
- well, blow me over
or
- knock me down with a feather?
Grüße
Cilian
- well, blow me over
or
- knock me down with a feather?
Grüße
Cilian
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+3
1 day 6 hrs
Selected
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit
Well, paint me purple and call me Barney!
Well, fan my brow and call me cousin!
Well, slap my ass and call me Sally!
Well, dip me in shit and roll me in breadcrumbs...!
zugegebene maßen nicht alle auf meinem Mist gewachsen- stole them here :-):
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-1503...
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Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2013-01-04 01:23:28 GMT)
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*zugebenermaßen* :-)
Well, fan my brow and call me cousin!
Well, slap my ass and call me Sally!
Well, dip me in shit and roll me in breadcrumbs...!
zugegebene maßen nicht alle auf meinem Mist gewachsen- stole them here :-):
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-1503...
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Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2013-01-04 01:23:28 GMT)
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*zugebenermaßen* :-)
Note from asker:
Thanks. Now that's more like it. Reminded me of Dip me in honey and throw me to the lesbians/bears. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
CMFTrier
: These definitely seem to be colourful images!
6 hrs
|
yes... so much fun browsing that site!
|
|
agree |
Cetacea
: Zuge*ge*benermassen very colorful! :-)
10 hrs
|
Mannomann! Es war spät...!
|
|
agree |
Lancashireman
: Points here, Cilian. Both QE2 and the Taoiseach liberally pepper their public pronouncements with 'butt' and 'ass'.
20 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "My personal subjective preferences.
Thanks everyone."
2 mins
I'll be a son of a gun
... I would imagine!
Note from asker:
on the bayou? :-) |
4 mins
blow me down
-
Example sentence:
http://www.think-global.com/tools/sb/deen/dict_DE-EN.php.htm
Note from asker:
Thanks, but this is not very different to my initial two boring suggestions. |
1 hr
well I'll go to the foot of our stairs
OK, something colourful, but VERY northern English
This originated in the North of England. It did travel to others parts of the UK during the 20th century, notably the Birmingham area where it was commonplace, but not much further, and is little known in other parts of the English-speaking world. It is now less used than previously, although it is still staple fare for any writer wishing to write a part for a stage northerner.
There are also less well-known alternatives with the same meaning - 'the back of our house' and 'the bottom of our garden'. All the variants were too low-status and colloquial to have been written down and I can find no printed examples of it until the late 20th century. The expression is certainly older than that and I have a clear recollection of my parents using it in the West Midlands in the 1950s and I would guess that it is older still.
Beyond that there's little more to tell. Exactly when the phrase was coined, by whom, and what it refers to, I don't know.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-foot-of-our-stairs.ht...
This originated in the North of England. It did travel to others parts of the UK during the 20th century, notably the Birmingham area where it was commonplace, but not much further, and is little known in other parts of the English-speaking world. It is now less used than previously, although it is still staple fare for any writer wishing to write a part for a stage northerner.
There are also less well-known alternatives with the same meaning - 'the back of our house' and 'the bottom of our garden'. All the variants were too low-status and colloquial to have been written down and I can find no printed examples of it until the late 20th century. The expression is certainly older than that and I have a clear recollection of my parents using it in the West Midlands in the 1950s and I would guess that it is older still.
Beyond that there's little more to tell. Exactly when the phrase was coined, by whom, and what it refers to, I don't know.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-foot-of-our-stairs.ht...
Note from asker:
I think I'm looking for a COLOURFUL way of saying "I can't believe that just happened". Sorry if I led anyone astray. |
1 hr
it (x) knocked my socks off
Another suggestion. I do not know how much this is used in the UK, though. It's common here. Best wishes for 2013!
Note from asker:
Thanks, but I'm looking for similar register. |
1 hr
it blows you away/blew me away
Sorry - can't see discussion entries, so this may already have been suggested.
Note from asker:
Thanks, but I'm looking for similar register. |
-4
2 hrs
I think off my rocker
Imho
Note from asker:
Maybe you meant to write: I think I'm off my rocker. ? |
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Kim Metzger
: Doesn't make any sense, I'm afraid.
36 mins
|
disagree |
Cetacea
: Doesn't make any sense, neither literally nor figuratively.
13 hrs
|
disagree |
CMFTrier
: As Cilian noted, maybe you were aiming for 'I think I'm off my rocker'? But this wouldn't fit in the context either.
1 day 9 hrs
|
disagree |
Lonnie Legg
: w.CMFT.
3 days 17 hrs
|
+1
15 hrs
well raise my rent
O-Ton Blazing Saddles....
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Note added at 15 hrs (2013-01-03 09:36:16 GMT)
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you must be kidding/get outta here/don't even go there/have you gone completely mad (bonkers)/are you imagining things/have you lost your marbles/are you off your rocker/stop talking rubbish/cut it out/
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Note added at 15 hrs (2013-01-03 09:42:49 GMT)
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oh lordy/lordy be/I'm speechless/my my/do tell/dumbfounded/shut up/you don't say/wishful thinking/
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Note added at 17 hrs (2013-01-03 11:43:34 GMT)
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Oy vey!
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Note added at 17 hrs (2013-01-03 11:44:45 GMT)
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shiver me timbers!
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Note added at 15 hrs (2013-01-03 09:36:16 GMT)
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you must be kidding/get outta here/don't even go there/have you gone completely mad (bonkers)/are you imagining things/have you lost your marbles/are you off your rocker/stop talking rubbish/cut it out/
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Note added at 15 hrs (2013-01-03 09:42:49 GMT)
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oh lordy/lordy be/I'm speechless/my my/do tell/dumbfounded/shut up/you don't say/wishful thinking/
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Note added at 17 hrs (2013-01-03 11:43:34 GMT)
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Oy vey!
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Note added at 17 hrs (2013-01-03 11:44:45 GMT)
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shiver me timbers!
Note from asker:
I think it's something along the lines of "Well, raise my rent!" that I*m looking for. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Cetacea
: Any quote from Blazing Saddles gets my vote. ;-)
1 hr
|
neutral |
AllegroTrans
: But is this British English (as asked for)?
2 hrs
|
21 hrs
Pigs might fly!
If you need an expression of disbelief, why not this?
Note from asker:
OK, so I'll win the lottery. Pigs might fly. |
+1
21 hrs
Well I'll be blowed
I think this nearest conveys the surpise combined with aceptance of what is hard to believe. Also "well blow me.."
Note from asker:
Thanks. I'm not looking for the most common English expression, but the one that comes close(st) to the German. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
CMFTrier
: At least everyone (I guess) has heard this before - if that's the kind of phrase you're looking for?
14 hrs
|
Frankly I do not understand the questioner's request to have not the commonest expression but the one that closest to German. Obviously, the nearest in German is something with pigs but there is no such expression sofaras I know in English
|
Reference comments
6 hrs
Reference:
Schweine können eigentlich gar nicht pfeifen. Wenn etwas Unerhörtes passiert, beschreibt man das gerne mit einer Redensart, die ebenfalls Unerhörtes beschreibt. Und weil die Schweine zwar quiken, schreien und grunzen, aber eben nicht pfeifen können, sagt man „ich glaub, mein Schwein pfeift“, wenn man ganz empört ist und weil eben so etwas Unterhörtes passiert ist.
Es gibt einen englischen Ausdruck, der heißt „to teach the pigs to play the flute“, also „einem Schwein beibringen, Flöte zu spielen“. Das ist wahrscheinlich auch damit verbunden: Etwas ganz Unmögliches wird herangezogen, um das Empörende, Seltsame, Überraschende dieser Situation zu beschreiben. Das findet man auch bei einer Reihe von Ausdrücken, die gar nicht so alt sind. Die entstanden erst in den 70er-, 80er-Jahren als sogenannte Sponti-Sprüche. Da gab es Ausdrücke wie „ich glaub, mein Hund spielt Halma“ oder „mein Hamster bohnert“ oder „mich knutscht ein Elch“.
Es gibt einen englischen Ausdruck, der heißt „to teach the pigs to play the flute“, also „einem Schwein beibringen, Flöte zu spielen“. Das ist wahrscheinlich auch damit verbunden: Etwas ganz Unmögliches wird herangezogen, um das Empörende, Seltsame, Überraschende dieser Situation zu beschreiben. Das findet man auch bei einer Reihe von Ausdrücken, die gar nicht so alt sind. Die entstanden erst in den 70er-, 80er-Jahren als sogenannte Sponti-Sprüche. Da gab es Ausdrücke wie „ich glaub, mein Hund spielt Halma“ oder „mein Hamster bohnert“ oder „mich knutscht ein Elch“.
Discussion
Nein, die Arbeit an der ich momentan sitze, ist nicht so prickelnd ... da ist Ablenkung willkommen.
Time to close the question now you have some starters.
Mich tritt ein Pferd comes pretty close too.
Phil and Lonnie, please feel free to ignore the Q if that's your personal and subjective preference. I think this Q is perfectly legit, even without context.
Nur als Anregung:
http://www.dict.cc/?s=mein Schwein pfeift
http://www.dict.cc/?s=mein Hamster bohnert
This would be the best way to proceed
Getting there.