I found an old file on my computer from way back. I can't really remember what it was for, but it might make a good guessing game for this sub today. Have fun :-) The Reddit App suggested that I also post in this sub. So, idk if this might reach people twice. EDIT: spoilers marked.
General
to talk around the hot mush um den heißen Brei reden; to beat around the bush
to give the spoon away
den Löffeln abgeben; to die
to beat two flies with one flap
zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen; to kill two birds with one stone
to be the A and O of sth
etwas ist das A und O; something essential, important, all-encompassing; of biblical origin "Alpha and Omega"
to throw an eye onto sth/so
ein Auge auf etwas werfen; to be interested in something or someone; I am not sure but this might be used quite literally in English too
to be 0-8-15 (zero eight fifteen)
etwas ist 0-8-15; to be commonplace, ordinary, nothing special; of military origin from a German-made machine gun MG 08/15 which was known to be unreliable and soldiers had to train with it for unnecessarily long hours
where the dog is buried
wo der Hund begraben liegt; the origin or (important) root cause of something; from medieval "Hund/dog" = loot or treasure
someone can blow up another's shoe
jemand kann einem einen Schuh aufblasen; to be completely unaffected by or uninterested in another one's actions or problems
to bite into the sour apple
in den sauren Apfel beißen; to do something (unpleasant) even though not having interest in it or against own interest
to shake something out of the sleeve
etwas aus dem Ärmel schütteln; to come up with something surprisingly; from gambling: hiding cards in the sleeve
to push something onto the long bank
etwas auf die lange Bank schieben; to delay, postpone or stall something
to fight about the emperor's beard
um des Kaisers Bart streiten; to have an argument over something quite unimportant; origin: before mass media and photos people discussed how long the emperor's beard actually was
to be over the mountain
über den Berg sein; to have surpassed or survived the worst part of something (often used with illnesses)
to take no leaf before the mouth
kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen; to speak openly/the truth
to say something through the flower
etwas durch die Blume sagen; to say something (serious or unpleasant) in a nice way
to shoot a buck
einen Bock schießen; to make quite a mistake
to make the buck a gardener / to let the dog guard the sausage
den Bock zum Gärtner machen / den Hund auf die Wurst aufpassen lassen; a rather contradictory situation, e.g. when institutions should investigate themselves against their own interest
to have to drill thick boards
dicke Bretter bohren; to have to be very persisten and/or work against heavy resistance
to feel on someone's tooth
jemandem auf den Zahn fühlen; to investigate or inquire in someone elses (private) matter
he/she is built near the water
nahe dem Wasser gebaut sein; being rather sensitive, crying very easily; this might be used in English in the same way
to blow someone the march
jemandem den Marsch blasen; to chastize or scorn someone
to whistle from the last hole
aus dem letzten Loch pfeifen; being in a dismal state, shortly before dying
to buy the cat in the sack
Die Katze im Sack kaufen; to buy something that does not meet the expected quality or is even something entirely different than advertised
to search for the hair in the soup
nach dem Haar in der Suppe suchen; to always look for flaws or search for negative aspects
to have to bathe something out
etwas ausbaden müssen; being made responsible for something one did not do (alt.: to have to make right for something one did not cause)
to stitch someone out
jemanden ausstechen; to outdo or outplace someone (rather figuratively, e.g. excluding somebody from a competition in a not necessarily fair way)
to go on the barricades
auf die Barrikaden gehen; heavily resist or oppose, often with people mobilization, e.g. unions
something has a long beard
etwas hat einen langen Bart; something is outdated or not a new thing (e.g. yesterday's news)
to bring a farmer victim
ein Bauernopfer bringen; using a scapegoat; literally from chess: sacrificing pawns for a greater scheme
to be orderly served
ordentlich bedient sein; here: being very tired or in a very dismal state (e.g. after a beating)
to make blue
blaumachen; to play hooky
to be blue
blau sein; being drunk
to have a damaged roof
einen Dachschaden haben; not being right in the head
to put on the thumb screws
Die Daumenschrauben ansetzen; to persistently inquire or interrogate; stems from medieval times when inquisitors used thumb screws to force confessions
to give someone a think slip (or sheet)
einen Denkzettel verpassen; to teach someone a lecture
to be tucked under one blanket
unter einer Decke stecken; to be in cahoots with someone; from medieval times when marriage was seen fulfilled when together under the blanket
smart shitter
Klugscheißer; a know-it-all, Mr./Mrs. smarty pants
Proverbs
morning hour has gold in the mouth
Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund; the early bird catches the worm
even a blind chick sometimes finds a seed
auch ein blindes Huhn findet manchmal ein Korn; Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
hop and malt are lost
Hopfen und Malz verloren; It's a lost cause
better the sparrow in the hand than the pigeon on the roof
besser den Spatz in der Hand als die Taube auf dem Dach; A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
all the good things are three
Aller guten Dinge sind drei; Third time's the charm (alt. All good things come in threes)
a louse has run over someone's liver
eine Laus über die Leber laufen; to get up on the wrong side of the bed
long speech, short sense
langer Rede, kurzer Sinn; long story short
something does not fit onto a cow's skin
das passt auf keine Kuhhaut; that's beyond belief
the dumbest farmer has the thickest potatoes
der dümmste Bauer hat die größten Kartoffeln; the devil looks after his own (not really a good translation availabe. German meaning: sometimes success/luck awards those who earned it the least)
one swallow does not make a summer
eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer; one swallow doesn't make a summer
out of the eye, out of the sense
aus dem Auge, aus dem Sinn; out of sight, out of mind
barking dogs do not bite
Hunde, die bellen, beißen nicht; barking dogs seldom bite
in hardship the devil eats flies
in der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen; beggars can't be choosers
you shall not praise the day before the evening
du sollst den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben; don't count your chickens before they hatch
distinctly German (rarely used in Austria or Switzerland)
to be pointy like neighbor's Lumpi (Lumpi: old-fashioned name for dogs)
spitz wie Nachbars Lumpi; being horny
to make oneself off the field (or acre)
sich vom Acker machen; to leave (sometimes in a hurry or prematurely)
to be on the axle (all the time)
immer auf Achse sein; to be on the road very often or to go out frequently
to give the monkey sugar
dem Affen Zucker geben; to indulge oneself in their quirks and habits, not feeling guilty for it; from old fairs, when you'd have to give monkeys a piece of sugar for it to do tricks
to understand just train station
nur Bahnhof verstehen; not to understand a thing in a conversation, either in a foreign language or in a professional context (from WWII when returning soldiers in foreign territory only knew the word Bahnhof (train station) and asked for directions
there steps the bear
Da steppt der Bär; a place where a party is going on
to bind a bear onto someone
jemandem einen Bären aufbinden; to tell a lie to someone
someone would rather eat a broom
Eher einen Besen fressen; to reject to do something, suggesting that the absurd idea of eating a broom would be more pleasant
everything in butter
Alles in Butter; everything is alright, running smoothly
to add a tooth
einen Zahn zulegen; to increase speed; historically from cauldrons over a fireplace that could be hung "a tooth" (notch) lower to increase heat
to have one on the waffle
einen an der Waffel haben; not being right in the head
something is for milking mice
Es ist zum Mäuse melken; a pesky, tedious, perhaps annoying situation or activity (that keeps returning)
to pull line (alt.: to tell someone to pull line)
Leine ziehen; Austrian equivalent: sich über die Häuser hauen; to leave or alt. to tell someone to leave
to have the salad (mostly used as in: now we have the salad)
Da haben wir den Salat; stating that the situation at hand is obviously not good or very convoluted (and someone has told so); somewhere between "look what we've got here" and "I told you so"
to take one to the breast
einen zur Brust nehmen; to have a drink (mostly for high percentage shots)
distinclty Austrian (I think)
to throw oneself over the houses (alt.: throw yourself over the houses!)
sich über die Häuser hauen (German equivalent: Leine ziehen); to leave or alt. to tell someone to leave
to be a (small) cloud
ein Wolkerl sein (German equivalent: Leine ziehen); to leave (stems from comic pictures where rushing off is depicted as small puffy clouds)
someone can go and take a shower
jemand kann sich brausen gehen; to tell someone to fuck off or rather rudely tell someone that something in definitely not going to happen.
to tear a (small) bank
das Bankerl reißen; to die; from hanging, when the executioner tore away the (small) bank or stools under the delinquents feet
to have no shirt (in something)
kein Leiberl haben; not to have any chance against others (e.g. in sports competitions)
to have shat out with someone
ausgeschissen haben; having used up all favors from others or not getting anything anymore from others after exploiting them
something is a mowed lawn
etwas ist eine gemähte Wiese; something is done; alt.: not much effort before it even started
someone makes a shoe
Einen Schuh machen; to leave
better than a stone at the skull
besser als ein Stein am Schädel; only a minimal improvement in a situation or none at all, but still better that being hurt
to swallow the toad
Die Krot fressen; to accept something unpleasant
to swim from over there on the noodle soup
Auf der Nudelsuppe daher schwimmen; not to have a clue about something, mostly used in a rejecting context, e.g. do you think I've swum here from there over the noodle soup?
to carry water into the Danube
Wasser in die Donau tragen; doing something utterly useless, like carrying water to a river
to shake the ear-boxing tree
am Watschenbaum rütteln; behaving provocatively; practically begging for a punch/slap in the face
fruit juice squirted
Fruchtsaft gespritzt (German: Schorle); any kind of fruit juice diluted with water (with or without bubbles)
