{"id":12582,"date":"2021-02-01T13:43:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T13:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=12582"},"modified":"2021-03-30T12:23:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T12:23:36","slug":"german-idioms-29-youre-so-wasteful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-idioms-29-youre-so-wasteful\/","title":{"rendered":"German Idioms 29: You’re So Wasteful!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s a new post of Sprichw\u00f6rter und Ausdr\u00fccke\u00a0<\/em>(Sayings and Expressions). The title of this series is different now, I changed it to “German Idioms” to give it a bit more flexibility and make it a bit more compact. Today, we’ll talk about\u00a0Abfall<\/em> (trash) and\u00a0M\u00fcll\u00a0<\/em>(waste). Weird, huh? Read on.<\/p>\n

For older posts, please\u00a0follow this link.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ex-und-hopp<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"German<\/a>

Image by Brian Yurasits at Unsplash.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Literally: chug and hop<\/em><\/p>\n

Here today, gone tomorrow<\/strong><\/p>\n

This expression refers to carefree, reckless behaviour. Obviously, it always has a negative connotation.<\/p>\n

Where does this expression come from? In the 1960s, German\u00a0Getr\u00e4nkehersteller\u00a0<\/em>(beverage manufacturers) tried to get rid of\u00a0Pfand\u00a0<\/em>with the\u00a0Ex-und-hopp-Werbekampagne <\/em>(ex and hop advertisement campaign).\u00a0Exen <\/em>means “to chug” and “hopp” is an expression for “alley-oop!”. So Ex-und-hopp <\/em>is an expression of a fast, carefree and fun process.<\/p>\n

In the style of Werbeplakate\u00a0<\/em>(ad posters) like these<\/a><\/strong>, all kinds of\u00a0Vorteile\u00a0<\/em>(advantages) were promised to customers.\u00a0Kein Pfand – kein Herumstehen von leeren Flaschen – kein<\/em> Zur\u00fccktragen\u00a0<\/em>(no deposit – no standing around of empty bottles – no carrying them back).<\/p>\n

The industry wanted to get rid of\u00a0Pfand<\/em>, which customers had to pay at the Kasse <\/em>(checkout) that was returned when the bottles were brought back to the store. With today’s views on Verm\u00fcllung\u00a0<\/em>(littering), these posters look funny and disconnected. Even back then, they didn’t really catch on.<\/p>\n

In the end, the Kampagne\u00a0<\/em>failed, and\u00a0Pfand<\/em> stayed. As well as the expression\u00a0Ex-und-hopp<\/em>. It is still used in this context sometimes, of course with a negative connotation. However, the meaning has also expanded to other actions of\u00a0Leichtfertigkeit\u00a0<\/em>(carelessness) or a lack of\u00a0Nachhaltigkeit\u00a0<\/em>(sustainability). An example of such Ex-und-hopp-Mentalit\u00e4t\u00a0<\/em>(ex and hop mentality, or throwaway mentality) is short-lived, careless relationships or thoughtless consumerism.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nntest du mir schnell diesen Brief vorbereiten? Ich brauche den schon morgen. Tut mir Leid, dass ich so sp\u00e4t frage. Vielleicht kommt das ein wenig ex-und-hopp r\u00fcber. Aber es ist mir wichtig, und du bist die einzige Person, die das bis dahin schaffen kann. Danke!<\/em><\/p>\n

(Could you quickly prepare this letter for me? I already need it tomorrow. Sorry that I ask so late. Perhaps that comes across a little “here today, gone tomorrow” – careless. But it is important to me, and you are the only person that can make it by then. Thank you!)<\/p>\n

On to the\u00a0Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>(expression).<\/p>\n

M\u00fcll reden<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Bielefeld – or is it? (Image by Fab at Commons.wikimedia.org, public domain)<\/p><\/div>\n

Literally:\u00a0<\/em>to talk garbage<\/em><\/p>\n

To talk nonsense<\/strong><\/p>\n

M\u00fcll reden\u00a0<\/em>literally means to talk garbage. I intentionally did not use “to talk trash”, as trash-talking can also exclusively mean to say mean things about another person.\u00a0M\u00fcll reden\u00a0<\/em>only means talking nonsense. There is no saying mean things about somebody else here.1<\/a><\/sup>saying mean stuff about others may still be nonsense, of course, and then it can be called M\u00fcll reden<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is informal talk, but not vulgar. Telling somebody that they’re talking nonsense isn’t really nice, of course, and the same etiquette as in the United States applies with this one. Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

Na klar, Bielefeld liegt im Norden Deutschlands!<\/em><\/p>\n

–\u00a0Was redest du da f\u00fcr ein M\u00fcll, Bielefeld gibt es doch gar nicht!<\/em>2<\/a><\/sup>for the uninitiated, it is a joke in Germany that Bielefeld, a city in the North of Germany, doesn’t actually exist. Where this started and what it means, I don’t know myself, but I’ve had my fun with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

(Of course, Bielefeld is in the north of Germany!<\/p>\n

– What kind of nonsense are you talking now, Bielefeld doesn’t even exist!)<\/p>\n

Have you used these before? How would you translate them in your language? I’d love to know! Let me know in the comments below.<\/strong><\/h3>\n