31 October 2012: Rabauke

31 Oct: Rabauke from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: der Rabauke

Closest English Translation: hooligan, roughneck

Literal Translation: bully

Thanks Cheryl Klein, Jinne Seo, Perla Krauze, Dan Tice and Tim Denevi!

30 October 2012: Jemandem einen Denkzettel verpassen

30 Oct: Jemandem einen Denkzettel verpassen from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Jemandem einen Denkzettel verpassen

Closest English Translation: To teach someone a lesson

Literal Translation: To make someone miss out on a think note

Thanks to Adrienne Elisha, Rishi Reddi, Carman Moore, and Matt Wray for your wonderful participation!

29 October 2012: Etwas in den Wind schlagen

29 Oct: Etwas in den Wind schlagen from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Etwas in den Wind schlagen

Closest English Translation: To throw it in the wind

Literal Translation: To hit something in the wind

28 October 2012: Wenn man einen Löffel fallen lässt, dann ist Besuch zu erwarten

28 Oct: Wenn man einen Löffel fallen lässt, dann ist Besuch zu erwarten from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Wenn man einen Löffel fallen lässt, dann ist Besuch zu erwarten

Closest English Translation: ? Is there such an American superstition?

Literal Translation: When you drop a spoon, someone will be coming to visit you soon.

27 October 2012: Bis in die Puppen

27 Oct: Bis in die Puppen from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: (Tanzen) Bis in die Puppen

Closest English Translation: (Dancing) all night long

Literal Translation: (Dancing) until in the dolls

26 October 2012: Kurz angebunden

26 Oct: Kurz angebunden from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Kurz angebunden

Closest English Translation: to be snippy, to be short

Literal Translation: to be short fastened

Thanks to Bryan Charles!

25 October 2012: Lange Finger machen

25 Oct: Lange Finger machen from kate hers on Vimeo.

Learning Category: Idiom, Slang

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Lange Finger machen

Closest English Translation: five finger discount, shoplift, steal

Literal Translation: to make a long finger

Thanks to Cheryl Klein and Kia Corthron!

24 October 2012: Einen Spleen haben

24 Oct: einen Spleen haben from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Einen Spleen haben

Closest English Translation: to be off your rocker, to be nuts

Literal Translation: to have a spleen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spleen
The connection between spleen (the organ) and melancholy (the temperament) comes from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks. One of the humours (body fluid) was the black bile, secreted by the spleen organ and associated with melancholy. In contrast, the Talmud (tractate Berachoth 61b) refers to the spleen as the organ of laughter while possibly suggesting a link with the humoral view of the organ. In the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England, women in bad humour were said to be afflicted by the spleen, or the vapours of the spleen. In modern English, “to vent one’s spleen” means to vent one’s anger, e.g. by shouting, and can be applied to both males and females. Similarly, the English term “splenetic” is used to describe a person in a foul mood.

23 October 2012: Handlanger

23 Oct: Handlanger from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: der Handlanger

Closest English Translation: minion, stooge, henchmen

Literal Translation: henchmen

Handlanger sein: to fetch and carry

22 October 2012: Wo der Kaiser zum fuß geht

22 Oct: Wo der Kaiser zum Fuß geht from kate hers on Vimeo.

Location: Peterborough, NH

Word or Expression: Wo der Kaiser zum fuß geht

Closest English Translation: to go to the loo, to go to the little boy’s room, to powder one’s nose

Literal Translation: Where the Emperor goes by foot