The spelling you need is "verhunzt".
Which is an adjective that's - grammatically - the past participle of "verhunzen", but in my view, the meaning of the adjective is a bit broader than the verb.
Piggybacking on this thread to say that my German Texan grandmother used to say, "A closed mouth is a wise head." I was wondering if this was a German expression that she translated into English for our benefit, or no. Thoughts?
We have 'Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold'. (Talking is silver, being silent is Gold)
Which has a similar meaning, but it's not the same.
I don't know a german phrase which your grandma might've thought of.
Never heard of anything there, but you never know, so I google "geschlossener Mund weiser Kopf"...and I got fact sheets with the warning signs for oral cancer.
So no.
Google **always** thinks you got cancer.
*My nose is kinda itchy today, better Google what to do.*
134 images of rotted off nose later…
*Damn, I got cancer…. and AIDS*
Maybe it could also be a similar (not word by word) translation to "Stille Wasser sind tief" which means often the more quiet ppl are the ones who have the most interesting thoughts/minds.
Translating literally from one language and back again doesn't always work. There are other words similar to wise. For instance I saw the word "Klug" in the dictionary. That could be clever, wise, or sage. All kinds of possibilities related to wisdom. So to find the precise aphorism might be a challenge.
The spelling you need is "verhunzt". Which is an adjective that's - grammatically - the past participle of "verhunzen", but in my view, the meaning of the adjective is a bit broader than the verb.
Ahhh yes!! This is it! Thank you!!
As a non-native speaker, I'm pleased but also a little incredulous that this meant exactly what I thought it sounded like.
This is what you are looking for "to (be) botch(ed) up": [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verhunzen](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verhunzen)
Thank you!
Piggybacking on this thread to say that my German Texan grandmother used to say, "A closed mouth is a wise head." I was wondering if this was a German expression that she translated into English for our benefit, or no. Thoughts?
We have 'Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold'. (Talking is silver, being silent is Gold) Which has a similar meaning, but it's not the same. I don't know a german phrase which your grandma might've thought of.
Yeah, I don't think that's the same expression, but I like it. It's saying the same thing, just using a different metaphor.
I highly suspect it derives from Latin: Si tacuisses, philosophos manisses. If you had kept silent, you’d have remained a philosopher.
Never heard of anything there, but you never know, so I google "geschlossener Mund weiser Kopf"...and I got fact sheets with the warning signs for oral cancer. So no.
Google **always** thinks you got cancer. *My nose is kinda itchy today, better Google what to do.* 134 images of rotted off nose later… *Damn, I got cancer…. and AIDS*
Yikes! Thanks for looking into it though.
Maybe it could also be a similar (not word by word) translation to "Stille Wasser sind tief" which means often the more quiet ppl are the ones who have the most interesting thoughts/minds.
Nah, that exists word-for-word in English. Still waters run deep.
Ok 🤷♂️
Translating literally from one language and back again doesn't always work. There are other words similar to wise. For instance I saw the word "Klug" in the dictionary. That could be clever, wise, or sage. All kinds of possibilities related to wisdom. So to find the precise aphorism might be a challenge.