German Proverbs quiz

More questions about German Proverbs

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Why would a German say they have "a bird"?

   Answer: acting crazy or irrational

   Why: The matching German gesture taps a finger to the forehead, and a Düsseldorf court ruled in 1960 that aiming it at another driver is punishable.

2. 2 Medium

   Why does someone "not have all the cups in the cupboard"?

   Answer: they are crazy

   Why: The origin is disputed: one reading makes a full cupboard a wealth symbol, another traces the cups to a Hebrew word for good sense.

3. 3 Hard

   Why does the sticky substance 'pitch' signify bad luck in German idioms?

   Answer: It trapped birds for hunters

   Why: Duden traces Pechvogel to a bird glued to a limed twig, the older name for which was Pechrute; the misfortune sense entered student slang in the 1700s.

4. 4 Easy

   What does "Lügen haben kurze Beine" suggest about telling lies?

   Answer: They are soon discovered

   Why: The same image runs across Europe: Italian, Dutch and Polish each have their own version of lies with short legs.

5. 5 Medium

   In the tale behind 'alles in Butter', why was glass packed in butter?

   Answer: It solidified preventing breakage

   Why: The butter shell is the traditional tale; Duden reads the phrase differently, as food cooked in good butter, not cheap fat.

6. 6 Hard

   What does "pulling out all the registers" mean?

   Answer: using every possible resource

   Why: The picture comes from the pipe organ: each register switches on a rank of pipes, so pulling them all lets it sound at full power.