Horst Huber (X) Sep 14, 2014:

Wish you'd get over all the idiom or not idiom fuss. Of course there are clients who want that, but why otherwise would you prefer something wimpy when your text seeks to call the spade a spade? Even in a less than elegant way?

Björn Vrooman Sep 12, 2014:

Well, thanks Johanna! Excerpt from your first link:
"Many of us probably live life with our hand brake on to a certain extent. We normally hold something back. We keep something in reserve. At times we find ourselves playing our cards close too our chest rather than wearing our hearts on our sleeves. It’s as if we’re scared to show the world all of who we are and what we’ve got." etc.

Basically says what I said before without me knowing that someone else said it too :)

And Johanna is right in my opinion, the idiom is not very well-established even in German. It's a form of "die Blockade im Kopf lösen" but with a twist: You're not completely blocking everything, you're just trying to be overcautious and drag everything out, so you wouldn't have to face a possibly difficult situation (who says change's easy?).

Personally, I think worries (as indicated below) or resistance works fine - I wouldn't get "too mental" here. The text doesn't even seem to be related to anything psychological.

A plan for education reform shouldn't sound like an advice column for stressed-out managers.

CGK (asker) Sep 12, 2014:

Yes, Helen and thanks, Johanna, for the interesting links!

Johanna Timm, PhD Sep 12, 2014:

not a very common German idiom either https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=MSITVLqKHMrP8gfto4B4#q="...

Helen Shiner Sep 12, 2014:

@Johanna It is not an established idiom. To my mind, both of the authors in your examples are playing with words (to good effect), but doing so because they thus create startling copy.

Johanna Timm, PhD Sep 12, 2014:

Interesting: http://www.be-world-class.com/business/release-the-hand-brak...
http://amandamorrisphd.com/2014/08/15/releasing-the-mental-b...

Donald Jacobson Sep 12, 2014:

Drop their "We've never done it that way before" mindset or mentality

Björn Vrooman Sep 12, 2014:

PS (@Claire) What just came to mind was "that university administrators leave their worries at the door".

I know that this is not the most apt expression here. I was simply looking to see whether I can come up with something sounding a bit nicer than my previous comment about "they are resistant to change".

As I said at the beginning, it's used to describe an emotional/mental blockade.

Basically: It's not at all about the money - there is plenty to go around. University administrators just need to stop worrying about what will happen if they change a long-cherished system.

Björn Vrooman Sep 12, 2014:

@Helen Sounds good to me.

"Handbremse lösen" can be understood quite literally: Just imagine driving around in a car with the handbrake on. It's going to really slow you down (never mind the wear and tear).

In other words: They are quite "resilient" these administrators :)

Helen Shiner Sep 12, 2014:

@Claire Would 'overcome their resistance to change' work?

CGK (asker) Sep 12, 2014:

@Björn That's a good point. The only problem is that the word "reform" comes up several timees in the same paragraph. Still, you could enter it as an answer.

Björn Vrooman Sep 12, 2014:

Thinking outside the box... ...maybe good for some but they're not even at that point yet. "Handbremse lösen" means something emotional, usually. It's about being open to new ideas at all and not holding back. Example:

"Ich muss die positive Atmosphäre wieder herstellen, die irgendwann verschüttet wurde. Das fünfte Jahr in der Zweiten Liga – das ist nicht der Anspruch von 1860. Es muss jeder einzelne Spieler die Handbremse im Kopf lösen – ich will jedem Spieler das Gefühl geben, dass er gebraucht wird. In erster Linie muss der Spaß zurückkehren."
http://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/inhalt.tsv-1860-lienen-w...

There's enough money to go around, the universities are simply resistant to change. They have to give up their resistance first before any creativity can set in. "open to reform" may actually work.