Expressions, Phrases and Sayings

Expressions, phrases and sayings are a fun way to spice up the language... Make it more colorful and get your train of thought easier communicated. I love to use them while talking, but having English as a foreign language and still trying to use them has been sometimes confusing or just plain hilarious for my conversation partners.

This post is for the German native to get a couple of tools at hand, to not make the same mistakes, I made in the past and actually be understood right away. Of course it's also for the English native to understand the German in your life a little better. (Mental note: Send link of this post to Terry!)

German Expression	Literal English Translation	Correct English Translation
Nichts fuer Ungut!	Nothing for Ungood.	Nevermind.
Auch ein blindes Huhn findet einmal ein Korn.	Even a blind chicken finds a grain every now and then.	Ever dog has it's day.
Weder Fisch noch Fleisch.	Neither fish nor meat.	Neither fish nor fowl.
Auf dem Holzweg sein.	Be on the wood way.	Barking up the wrong tree.
Besser der Spatz in der Hand als die Taube auf dem Dach.	A sparrow in the hand is worth a dove on the roof.	A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Abwarten und Tee trinken.	Wait and drink tea.	Wait and see.
Ach Du gruene Neune!	Um, you green nine!	Good grief!
in Butter sein	be in butter	things are going smoothly
jemandem auf der Nase herum tanzen	dance on somebody's nose	to walk all over somebody
jemanden auf Herz und Nieren pruefen	test someone on there heart and kidneys	to put somebody through their paces
Das geht auf keine Kuhhaut.	That doesn't fit on cow's skin.	It beggars description.
etwas aus dem Aermel schuetteln	shake something out of the sleeve	come up with something just like that
aus dem Groebsten heraus sein	to be out of the roughest	to be out of the woods
aus dem Haeuschen sein	to be out of the little house	to be beside oneself
kurz vor dem Aus stehen	to be close to the end	to teeter on the brink of collapse
Blut und Wasser schwitzen	to sweat blood and water	to be in a cold sweat
Das sind boehmische Doerfer fuer mich.	Those are Bohemian villages for me.	It's all Greek to me.
den Amtsschimmel reiten	ride the office white horse	to do everything by the book
die Daumen druecken	press the thumbs	cross your fingers
den Vogel abschiessen	to shoot the bird	to take the cake
die Beine in die Hand nehmen	take the legs in the hand	to take to one's heels
die Katze im Sack kaufen	to be the cat in the bag	to buy a pig in a poke
die Kurve kratzen	to scratch the curve	to hit the road
eine ruhige Kugel schieben	to push a calm ball	to have a cushy job
einen Korb bekommen	to get the basket	to get the mitten
erste Sahne	prime crème	doozy
ins Fettnaepfchen treten	to step into a little bowl full of fat	to put one's foot in
mit einem blauen Auge davonkommen	get away with a black eye	to get a slap on the wrist
mit Kanonen auf Spatzen schiessen	shoot sparrows with cannons	to break a fly on the wheel
nur Bahnhof verstehen	just understand train station	It's all Greek to me.
Wer anderen eine Grube graebt, faellt selbst hinein.	Who diggs a pit for others, falls in it themselves.	Harm set, harm get.
Eine Kraehe hackt der anderen kein Auge aus.	One crow doesn't peck out the other crow's eye.	There is honor among thieves.

This is just a small selection of the things that are different. There are tons of expressions that are the same in the English and German language.

If you have anything to add, please free to leave a comment! ;-)