Quoting or twisting
Native speakers rarely use an idiom in its dictionary form when they want to be funny or pointed. They stretch it, cut it short, take it literally or cross it with another one. The joke lives in the gap between what the listener expects and what arrives.
Original and twist
Der Zug ist abgefahren.
That ship has sailed.
the fixed form
Der Zug ist nicht nur abgefahren, der wurde stillgelegt.
That ship hasn't just sailed, it's been scrapped.
extended: the image is pushed one step further
Five ways to twist
Move and effect
| What you do | Effect |
|---|---|
| carry the image beyond the idiom | escalation, dry humour |
| say the first half, let the listener finish | knowing, casual |
| treat the image as real | punchline, often sarcastic |
| replace the last word of a saying | headline, slogan |
| merge two idioms into one | absurd comedy, only if both are audible |
All five at work
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof, und zwar mit Verspätung.
It's all Greek to me, and the translation is running late.
nur Bahnhof verstehen = to understand nothing; extended with the railway image
Er hat dem Chef eine Falle gestellt und sitzt jetzt selbst drin. Tja, wer andern eine Grube gräbt …
He set a trap for the boss and is now caught in it himself. Well, he who digs a pit for others …
the rest, fällt selbst hinein, stays unsaid
Er wollte sich für uns ein Bein ausreißen. Bisher hat er sich nicht mal einen Fingernagel abgebrochen.
He was going to bend over backwards for us. So far he hasn't even broken a fingernail.
sich ein Bein ausreißen = to go to great lengths; the image is taken at its word
Die Renovierung ist fertig. Ende gut, alles teuer.
The renovation is done. All's well that ends expensively.
from Ende gut, alles gut
Jetzt auch noch eine Gebühr für die Rechnung? Das schlägt dem Fass die Krone ins Gesicht!
Now a fee for the invoice as well? That takes the biscuit and the whole tin!
a well-known joke crossing dem Fass den Boden ausschlagen and der Sache die Krone aufsetzen
German grammar keeps the twist together
English twists often just tack on a clause. In German the added part has to agree with the idiom: a pronoun picks up the gender of the idiom's noun, and a verb you add keeps the idiom's case. In spoken German the follow-up is often a demonstrative (der, die, das) in the Vorfeld, which points straight back at the image.
Agreement across the twist
Da hat er den Bogen überspannt, und der ist jetzt gebrochen.
He overstepped the mark, and now the bow has snapped.
der Bogen, so der
Sie hat ihm reinen Wein eingeschenkt, und den musste er erst mal verdauen.
She told him the plain truth, and he needed a moment to digest it.
den Wein, accusative after verdauen
When it lands
A twisted idiom works in conversation among colleagues and friends, in columns, headlines and advertising. It does not belong in contracts, reports or condolences. One per paragraph is plenty: the second already feels like a routine.
