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Author Topic: "Eat bird or die"
Wilf Day
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Babbler # 3276

posted 25 September 2005 10:19 PM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
"Die Union kann nicht in Koalitionsverhandlungen mit der SPD eintreten nach dem Motto 'Friss Vogel oder stirb'."
Literally "The CDU cannot enter into coalition negotiations with the SPD with the slogan 'eat bird or die'."

It took Deutsche Welle to help me out: "The CDU cannot enter into coalition negotiations with the SPD saying 'take it or leave it'."


From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
lagatta
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2534

posted 26 September 2005 12:05 AM      Profile for lagatta     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ya learn something every day, eh?
From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged
Américain Égalitaire
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Babbler # 7911

posted 26 September 2005 01:09 AM      Profile for Américain Égalitaire   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Not THIS bird, I hope!

This bird has been largely responsible for my absence from babble the last week or so. But now that I have linux safely (hopefully) ensconced on my main computer, I'll be more um, around.

I took 2 years of HS German and one year in college and the language can be a bit of a humourous exercise in losing something in translation at times. And it always sounds like you have to hack up a hairball when pronouncing certain words. But it was fun. Especially the Guten Tag videos!


From: Chardon, Ohio USA | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged
Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276

posted 26 September 2005 03:58 AM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
German cats have powerful legs.
New MP Katja Mast, 34, explains why she decided to stand for Parliament as the SPD candidate in Pforzheim/Enzkreis. »Ich fühle mich hier im Schwarzwald wie zu Hause, und nach Offenburg zu meiner Familie ist es auch nur ein Katzensprung«, kommt die Antwort prompt. "I feel as if I'm at home here in the Black Forest, and it's only a cat jump to my family in Offenburg", comes the answer promptly. Actually it's 100 km. Some cat jump.

From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478

posted 26 September 2005 07:20 AM      Profile for skdadl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I like "ein Katzensprung" -- I can use that. It will join my slowly growing collection of useful German slang -- my favourite is still "ein Sitzpinkler."
From: gone | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
lagatta
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2534

posted 26 September 2005 09:31 AM      Profile for lagatta     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Not a Stehpinkler?

Here are some more good ones, from German and many other languages. Tingo!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4248494.stm


From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
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Babbler # 3807

posted 26 September 2005 08:24 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
"Eat bird or die" reminds me of an old tune. I first knew a 1936 version of it, recorded by by Harlem Hamfats, called Root, Hog, or Die.

"Root, hog, or die" means provide for yourself, or go without and die.

quote:
"Root, Hog, or Die" (1856)
Words and Music: anonymous
As sung by Ordway's Aeolians

1.
I'm right from old Virginny wid my pocket full ob news
I'm worth twenty shillings right square in my shoes
It doesnt make a dif of bitternance to neider you nor I
Big pig or little pig Root, hog, or die.

CHORUS
I'm chief cook and bottlewasher, cap'n ob de waiters;
I stand upon my head,
When I peel de Apple dumplins.

2.
I'se happiest darkee on de top ob de earth
I get fat as possom in de time ob de dearth
Like a pig in a tate patch dar let me be
Way down in old Virginny whar its Root, hog, or die.

(CHORUS)

3.
De Boston dandies dey look so very grand
Old clothes hand me down gloves upon de hand
High heel boots boots moustaches round de eye -
A perfect sick family ob Root, hog, or die.

(CHORUS)

4.
De Boston gals dey de beat dem all
Dey wear high heel shoes for to make demself's tall
If dey dont hab dem de Lor how dey'l cry
De boys hab got to get dem or else Root, hog, or die.

(CHORUS)

5.
De Shanghie coats dey're getting all de go
Whar de boys get dem I realy dont know
But dey're bound to get dem if dey dont hang too high
Or else dey make de Taiors run Root, hog or die.

(CHORUS)

---------------
ANOTHER VERSION
Adapted to the same music.

1.
I'll tell you of a story that happened long ago;
When the English came to America, I s'pose you all know,
They couldn't whip the Yankees, I'll tell you the reason why,
Uncle Sam made them sing, Root hog or die.

2.
John Bull went to Boston, as you shall plainly see,
Forty large ships, loaded clear up with tea,
The Yankees wouldn't pay the tea tax, I'll tell the reason why,
The Yankee boys made 'em sing, Root hog or die.

3.
They first met our armies on the top of Bunker hill,
When it came to fighting, I guess they got their fill,
The Yankee boys chased them off, I'll tell you the reason why,
The Yankee boys made 'em sing, Root hog or die.

4.
Then they met our Washington at Yorktown,
There the Yankees mowed 'em down like grass from the ground,
Old Cornwallis gave up his sword, I'll tell you the reason why,
General Washington made 'em sing, Root hog or die.

5.
Then they came to Baltimore forty years ago,
They tried to take North Point, but found it wouldn't go,
The Baltimoreans chased them off, I'll tell you the reason why,
The Yankee boys made 'em sing, Root hog or die.

6.
Then they marched their armies down to New Orleans,
That was the place, I think, that Jackson gave 'em beans,
They couldn't take our Cotton bales, I'll tell the reason why,
General Jackson made 'em sing, Root hog or die.

7.
Now Johnny Bull has been kicking up a fuss,
He'd better keep quiet, or he'll surely make it worse,
We're bound to have Cuba, I'll tell you the reason why,
For Uncle Sam will make 'em sing, Root hog or die.


[ 26 September 2005: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
belva
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Babbler # 8098

posted 27 September 2005 11:29 AM      Profile for belva     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
slight wobble to the thead: It is rumored that in the U.S. the state of Wisonsin debated about making its state motto "Eat cheese or die!"

As I say, a rumor without substance . . .


From: bliss | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276

posted 02 October 2005 09:55 PM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'm not making this up: Cajus Julius Caesar candidated in vain.

In the Dresden deferred election:

quote:
The Christian Democrats (CDU) are in the odd position of hoping they do not get too many votes, because under the rules they might then forfeit a seat elsewhere. Even more strangely, the politician at risk is called Cajus Julius Caesar.

Der 54-Jährige kandidierte im Wahlkreis 136, genannt 'Lippe I'. "The 54-year-old candidated in constituency 136, named 'Lippe I'."

And here I was blaming the Americans for verbing so many nouns. Apparently it's good Anglo-Saxon practice.

Anyway, on election night two weeks ago Cajus Julius Caesar was elected, he thought, as a CDU list candidate in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, having been defeated in Lippe (just west of Hanover) by the SPD man. Just as happened three years ago.

But this time Caesar got only the 34th place on the CDU state list.

Then, at 2.16 o'clock a.m., came the news "Mr. Caesar is in the Bundestag." He was the last on the North-Rhine/Westphalia list of the CDU. The team of Cajus Caesar drew a deep breath. Four more years in Berlin. A few days later came the letter from the President of the Bundestag: congratulations on being elected to the Bundestag "based on the provisional official final result."

But fate has dealt damn few so hard a blow: most likely ("höchstwahrscheinlich") Cajus Julius Caesar rejoiced too soon.

"One must face facts", says Cajus Caesar more than one week after the first part of the election: "my seat is gone." The calculation was predictable. The CDU seats are divided mathematically between its state lists. With the new numbers of "party votes" from Dresden the past balance shifts between the CDU votes of the individual states.

Will it shift to the Saarland list? Or to the Saxony list, where it will vanish because the CDU won too many local seats in Saxony?

Stay tuned for the final official final result.


From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
jrootham
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Babbler # 838

posted 02 October 2005 10:00 PM      Profile for jrootham     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Aaaasrgh

quote:
And here I was blaming the Americans for verbing so many nouns.

From: Toronto | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
Kassandra
recent-rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11267

posted 07 December 2005 11:00 AM      Profile for Kassandra     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
German speakers out there, I want to name my old BMW motorcycle. How do you say 'Steel Camel' in German? Include the article please
From: Ontario | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
F.
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10725

posted 07 December 2005 12:02 PM      Profile for F.     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Das Stahleskamel.
From: here | Registered: Oct 2005  |  IP: Logged
skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478

posted 07 December 2005 01:42 PM      Profile for skdadl     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ooh. Not sure that name bodes well for much forward motion from the bike.
From: gone | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276

posted 19 May 2006 12:18 AM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
And then there was the famous EU translator who had to render the English "Out of sight, out of mind" into German, where it came out as "invisible idiots."
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Steve Tree
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Babbler # 12554

posted 19 May 2006 01:27 PM      Profile for Steve Tree     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Wilf Day:
And then there was the famous EU translator who had to render the English "Out of sight, out of mind" into German, where it came out as "invisible idiots."

Wow. You just made my day. I love this forum!


From: Montréal, at the moment... | Registered: May 2006  |  IP: Logged
Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276

posted 09 July 2006 10:46 AM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
English-speakers love euphemisms like "blended family."

German is more blunt: Left Party Bundestag member Karin Binder says:

quote:
Lebe ich nun in Karlsruhe in einer Patchwork-Familie mit Elwis, Dominik (12) und Maximilian (8).

(I live now in Karlsruhe in a patchwork family with Elwis, Dominik (12) and Maximilian (8).)

From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276

posted 17 November 2007 12:29 AM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
An even stronger cat than Katja Mast's:
quote:
From my constituency office in Leipzig to the seat of the European Parliament in Brussels, it is only a cat jump.

That would be 450 miles, says Mapquest.

But I must admit, GoogleTranslate is onto these German cats. It actually translates "ist es nur ein Katzensprung" as "it is only a stone's throw away."


From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 17 November 2007 01:54 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think I really like "patchwork family". That's pretty awesome. I don't know that I'd call "blended family" any more euphemistic than "patchwork family". But "patchwork" sounds so much more homey (think of quilts) and lovely, like everyone's an individual, making up a beautiful whole. Blended sounds like you threw everyone into a blender. Not so pretty result!

My father remarried when I was an adult, and I got a stepmother and stepbrothers (and stepsisters by marriage, and step-nieces and -nephews) out of the bargain. I'm not sure if it's considered a "blended family" if you've never lived together, but I do consider them all family, and certainly my son considers my stepmother his grandmother, and my stepbrothers and his children to be his uncles and cousins.

So I guess I'm part of a "patchwork family"!


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Brian White
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Babbler # 8013

posted 17 November 2007 11:39 AM      Profile for Brian White   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Isnt it just a play on words?
Vogel is a leading politician's name.
quote:
Originally posted by Wilf Day:
"Die Union kann nicht in Koalitionsverhandlungen mit der SPD eintreten nach dem Motto 'Friss Vogel oder stirb'."
Literally "The CDU cannot enter into coalition negotiations with the SPD with the slogan 'eat bird or die'."

It took Deutsche Welle to help me out: "The CDU cannot enter into coalition negotiations with the SPD saying 'take it or leave it'."



From: Victoria Bc | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged
Threads
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3415

posted 17 November 2007 11:53 AM      Profile for Threads     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
It may be a play on words, but I was able to find a German-English idiom dictionary on Google Books that gives it as meaning "do or die" or "sink or swim". Oddly enough, it seems to have arisen during Luther's time, as the title of an anti-Protestant tract.
From: where I stand | Registered: Dec 2002  |  IP: Logged
Brian White
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Babbler # 8013

posted 17 November 2007 12:18 PM      Profile for Brian White   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
They did have a very long religous war. Perhaps there was no fish available on fridays so they ate fowl somewhere? Or some siege where migrating birds saved the city from starvation?
Sayings often have long forgotten beginnings.
quote:
Originally posted by Threads:
It may be a play on words, but I was able to find a German-English idiom dictionary on Google Books that gives it as meaning "do or die" or "sink or swim". Oddly enough, it seems to have arisen during Luther's time, as the title of an anti-Protestant tract.

From: Victoria Bc | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged
robbie_dee
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Babbler # 195

posted 21 November 2007 08:39 AM      Profile for robbie_dee     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I saw this thread and thought immediately that it was a strange amalgam of the New Hampshire state motto ("live free or die") and the pending U.S. holiday (Thanksgiving). This is really just a long-winded way of wishing a "Happy Turkey Day" to my American friends.
From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276

posted 09 September 2008 12:07 PM      Profile for Wilf Day     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Above I referred to "Cajus Julius Caesar candidated in vain."

In discussion of Romania's coming election we find:

quote:
The two parties candidated together in 2000 and 2004, when the PC was known as the Humanist Party (PUR).

The Liberals also convinced former TV star George Calinescu, country music artist Nicolae Furdui Iancu and composer Mihai Pocorschi to candidate in this autumn’s elections.



From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged

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