26: More German Idioms, hooray!

 
People have told me in the past that they love these posts, so I’ll make an effort to keep it going (until I run out of fun German idioms, I guess). Enjoy! And make sure you check out the other round-ups of idioms here, here, here, here, and here, here, and here.

I’ve always enjoyed learning English idioms and also really enjoy teaching German idioms to my non-native German-speaking husband. He’s successfully dropped one or the other German idiom in conversation with me in the past and it’s always a bit of a fist-pump-kinda-moment. Hehe.

Hätte, hätte, Fahrradkette. (Woulda, woulda, bicycle chain.) Well, that obviously only works in German, haha,  because it rhymes. The English equivalent (rhyme) is “Shoulda, coulda, woulda”.

Du bist ein Scherzkeks. (You’re a joke cookie.)  Definitely one I use often when Jon’s trying to be particularly funny. It means you’re a jokster.

Jemandem Kopfzerbrechen bereiten. (To cause someone’s head breaking.) This is pretty self-explanatory, am I right? It means that you’re causing someone worry or that you’re puzzling someone with your behavior.

Etwas ins Leben rufen. (To call something into life.) To initiate something.

Es ist kein Hexenwerk. (It is no witchcraft.) It’s not rocket science.

Gute Karten haben. (To have good cards.) This is similar to the English idiom ‘to be dealt a good hand’, but it can also mean that you have a good chance at something.

Du hast eine schreckliche Fahne.  (You have a horrible flag.) This is useful to let someone know that they shouldn’t get too close because they have awful alcoholic breath.

Ich bin fuchsteufelswild. (I am foxdevilswild). One of the awesome German compound words. Don’t you love them. This means that you’re  crazy mad about something.

Teach me an idiom! Or ask me for the translation of an English idiom into German!

I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. Come join me. #nablopomo2019