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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

mit ihm ist nicht gut Kirschen essen

English translation:

It\'s no picknick with him / you don\'t want to mess with him

Added to glossary by Cilian O'Tuama
Aug 2, 2010 22:24
13 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term

mit ihm ist nicht gut Kirschen essen

German to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Modern slang
Hi All,

No context as such. It's just a common expression which surely must have an equally flowery English equivalent. Oder?

I realise it can depend on who says it and who it's referring to. So let's restrict it to a peer-to-peer situation.

The standard translations are boring, e.g.:
- he's a tough customer/cookie.
- it's best not to tangle with him.
- he's not an easy person to deal with.

Any bright ideas?

Ciao,
Cilian
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 It's no picknick with him
3 +4 he's not one to mess with
3 +1 Dealing with him is like
3 he's a hardass
3 he/she'll eat (chew) you up and spit you out
References
the dark middle ages...

Discussion

Cilian O'Tuama (asker) Aug 3, 2010:
C'mon folks! We can do better than that! :-)
Steven Jefferson Aug 3, 2010:
He doesn't suffer fools gladly - more formal I think this (slightly) more formal term could be used in other contexts
Steven Jefferson Aug 3, 2010:
You don't want to mess with him - colloquial This is colloquial speech but I think it conveys the right sense in some contexts
Johanna Timm, PhD Aug 2, 2010:
While the German idiom... is slightly dated( ~Fifties), if used today (and also in literary texts), the aspect “nervousness in the face of an authority” has still been preserved (see reference below); so, ideally, the corresponding English idiom would also include this element ('steer clear off…' etc)
Cilian O'Tuama (asker) Aug 2, 2010:
What's wrong with...? Nothing's wrong with. :-)

Was just chatting to a German who loves the English language (and most other associated things, even if just Irish), and she was disappointed with what I came up with. So I need you guys to help me impress her.
;.)
c
Kathi Stock Aug 2, 2010:
What's wrong with... ..."It's best not to tangle with him"? Have to agree with Andrew...oh my...not happy with the 3 options you found?
Lancashireman Aug 2, 2010:
Goodness gracious, ... ... (or "Jeez" if preferred), you've already ruled out three prime candidates.

Proposed translations

+1
27 mins
Selected

It's no picknick with him

Hello,

Perhaps this might work.

I hope this helps.
Note from asker:
Thank you, M, I like the picnic idea, similar imagery.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Lancashireman : Could be down to 'inadequate provisioning': http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/business_commerc...
10 mins
Thank you. The idea is that you're not going to have a good time with him.
agree Andreas Hild : http://www.bbc.co.uk/mystory/stories/family-and-friends/1735...
11 hrs
Thank you, andyhd! Have a nice evening.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This one was the most suitable on this occasion. Thanks all round."
4 hrs

he's a hardass

Seeing as you've already ruled out the more standard translations, this seems like a nice equivalent ... with the qualification that it's not the same register as the source, and I'm not sure whether it would be used outside of North America (hardarse???).

Webster defines a hard-ass as "a tough, demanding, or uncompromising person."
Reference:

http://east.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/hard-ass

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hardass

Note from asker:
Thanks N, Is there a nicer way of putting it? :-)
Peer comment(s):
neutral Lancashireman : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUKOebCbINc
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
8 hrs

he's not one to mess with

Another option
Note from asker:
Thanks T, again "don't mess" (as Bernhard also suggested) conveys the meaning, but the positive - almost romantic - image of "eating cherries" or similar ain't there.
Peer comment(s):
agree Rolf Keiser : and a good one, Elke
55 mins
Thank you kindly, Rolf. :)
agree Robert Feuerlein
5 hrs
Thank you, Robert.
agree Melanie Meyer
8 hrs
Thank you, Melanie.
agree British Diana : YEs! It conveys the fact that one must be wary of this person
8 hrs
Thank you, Diana.
neutral Bernhard Sulzer : I guess you did not see my previous suggestion? / Kein Problem. Danke. :)
12 hrs
In fact, I didn't.
Something went wrong...
+1
39 mins

Dealing with him is like

being in a ring with a pit bull/drunken Irishman/Dirty Harry

putting a chihuahua in a ring with a pit bull



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2010-08-03 02:04:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The guy you don't want to cross.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day0 min (2010-08-03 22:25:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

He's no pushover/walkover/Milquetoast
Note from asker:
Thanks Kim. Seems a bit harsh? Maybe the meaning is similar, but the language isn't. Am looking for a softer expression.
Peer comment(s):
agree Robert Feuerlein : We could quote Dirty Harry : "Make my day, Punk..."
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

he/she'll eat (chew) you up and spit you out

To me, the first meaning is that somebody is very difficult to get along with and that

" he/she could have/has it in for you/anybody",

meaning there would be negative consequences. There seems to be also a bit of a mean competitiveness in that behavior or of bad behavior caused by a position of power, but not necessarily so. He/she could just be a mean person because that's how they are, from their bully beginnings in childhood to their adult abrasiveness.

don't mess with him/her (he/she'll eat (chew) you up and spit you out)

he/she's not going to kiss you on the cheek /extend their hand for a friendly welcome
Nice is something else / is a foreign concept to him (her)
don't expect any favors from him/her



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day3 hrs (2010-08-04 02:02:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for your feedback.
My wife and I were thinking a bit farther and came up with a few that go from soft to cute to somewhat silly:

you won't be able to butter him /her up / he won't let himself be buttered up by you
he's not going to tiptoe through the tulips with you
he (she's) a prickly pear
he won't blow raspberries with you



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day8 hrs (2010-08-04 06:42:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/mit_dem_ist_nicht_gut_Kirschen...
explains it as originally
1) spitting pits at people: being a defensive action by rich folks against less fortunate ones that got too friendly with them, trying to get something out of/from them / some of the great and expensive things to eat (those expensive cherries o~) / trying to get in on some business deal or being accepted by them etc.

I believe the "buttering up/schmoozing" version would fit this definition.

or
2) derived from a bishop who served up some poisoned cherries for a margrave -

so, here are a few more ideas, for each definition, keeping in mind for definition 1) that something (a nice action in the soft sense) is turned into the opposite.

1) this isn't (is certainly not ) going to be a love fest (dealing with him...)
it's not going to be all hugs and kisses
It's not going to be all peaches and cream
remember, you weren't (really) invited to their/his/her garden party


2) beware of the fruit you eat / you are being served / they serve you
they won't serve you up anything nice / easily digestible

http://blog.simplejustice.us/2010/03/29/honest-broker-or-loo...
peaches and cream

http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com/2010/07/obama-meets-neta...
no love fest
Note from asker:
Thanks, B, but I'm looking for a soft way of saying the same, if you know what I mean.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

56 mins
Reference:

the dark middle ages...

Die Redensart "Mit ihm ist nicht gut Kirschen essen" bedeutet "Mit ihm ist nicht gut auszukommen". Nicht immer bezieht sich die Redewendung heute auf Personen, auch mit einer Krankheit kann nicht gut Kirschen essen sein.

Im Mittelalter war der Personenbezug allerdings eindeutig. In ihrer ursprünglichen Form lautet die Redensart: Mit hohen Herren ist nicht gut Kirschen essen, sie spucken (werfen) einem die Kerne (Stiele) ins Gesicht. Kirschen waren damals noch nicht so weit verbreitet und wurden lediglich in den Gärten der Klöster und der Reichen angebaut. Mit dem Ausdruck wollte man von allzu freundschaftlichem Umgang mit den hohen Herren abraten, da diese in ihrem Übermut den weniger gut Gestellten oft Schaden zufügten.
http://www.ceryx.de/sprache/wd_kirschen_essen.htm
Note from asker:
Thanks Jo, ye learn something new every day (I'm very glad to say).
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree writeaway : interesting reading. thanks Johanna. /like in the film the Witches of Eastwick?? ;-)
13 mins
you're welcome. Just had some cherries and spit the pits all over the place. So there:-)// hehe ...totally:-)))
agree Jenny Streitparth : Thank you. @ Cilian: citing this may impress your friend!
3 hrs
:-)
neutral Lonnie Legg : Thx for the interesting bg.
9 hrs
agree Clive Phillips : Thank you, Johanna. At end of WWII my uncle as a British military truck driver allegedly ate cherries in one of the boxes at La Scala (Milan) during a performance, spitting the stones onto the bald pates and décolletés of the Italian upper crust below.
9 hrs
what a great story:-)
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