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08/15-Produkte

English translation: run of the mill products

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase: 08/15-Produkte
English translation:run of the mill products
Entered by: E Perret

08:29 Oct 17, 2006
German to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Business/Commerce (general)
German term or phrase: 08/15-Produkte
Klare Abgrenzung von 08/15-Produkten.

This is for a communication strategy of a company. It is listed next to "our products stand for top quality ", so I presume it means something along the lines of "poor quality products".

TIA
E Perret
Switzerland
Local time: 02:33
run of the mill products
Explanation:
another option
Selected response from:

Jonathan MacKerron
Grading comment
Thanks very much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +14run of the mill products
Jonathan MacKerron
5 +4standard products
Alison Schwitzgebel
5 +1nondescript products
M-A-Z
4 +1common, everyday products
Günther Toussaint


  

Answers


15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
common, everyday products


Explanation:
The "coolslang.com - dictionary simply describes "08/15 as "Boring, common, unoriginal, monotonous. Originally soldier slang (0815 was a common machine gun used in World War I, and soldiers were drilled in the same lesson over and over again.)

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Note added at 18 Min. (2006-10-17 08:47:41 GMT)
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isn't "standard" too nice?


    Reference: http://www.coolslang.com/in/German/index.php
Günther Toussaint
Local time: 02:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 11

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Cetacea: "standard" is definitely too nice.
17 mins
  -> thx, Cetacea
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +14
run of the mill products


Explanation:
another option

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 156
Grading comment
Thanks very much!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Monika Leit: Finde ich treffend, da 08/15 Produkte abwertend verwendet wird, also eher etwas unter Standard.
4 mins
agree  Cetacea: mit Jonathan und Monika. Aber: "run-of-the-mill products".
10 mins
agree  Ulrike Kraemer: mit Cetacea
15 mins
agree  Claire Cox
49 mins
agree  Aniello Scognamiglio (X): ja, der leicht negative Touch kommt besser rüber als bei "standard" oder "vanilla" (was nicht negativ ist).
1 hr
agree  Nicole Wulf
2 hrs
agree  Oliver Annacker
2 hrs
agree  Kathi Stock
2 hrs
agree  DC Josephs
2 hrs
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): or: run-in-the-mill is how I know it too
2 hrs
agree  Rebecca Garber
5 hrs
agree  Kerstin Hammes (X)
23 hrs
agree  Günther Toussaint: that takes the biscuit!
23 hrs
agree  Richard Benham: Definitely hyphenated.
3 days 10 hrs
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +4
standard products


Explanation:
This means standard products, products that are nothing special. THe "08/15" part has something to do with weapons in one of the World Wars.

Let me get you a souce. Back in a mo...

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Note added at 5 mins (2006-10-17 08:34:39 GMT)
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"Der Begriff 08/15 geht auf das Maschinengewehr Maxim 08 zurück, das 1915 modifiziert im ersten Weltkrieg in der deutschen Armee eingesetzt wurde. Daher (sMG) 08/15.
Da es in jeder Einheit der Infantrie Usus war, kam es zum Synonym für gewöhnlich, normal"
http://www.couchblog.de/couchblog/archives/2003/08/firebird_...

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Note added at 7 mins (2006-10-17 08:36:41 GMT)
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"Viele fragen sich, woher eigentlich der Ausdruck 08/15 stammt. Er geht zurück auf die Typenbezeichnung eines deutschen Maschinengewehrs, das im Ersten Weltkrieg zum Einsatz kam. Durch den permanenten Drill an dieser aus 383 Einzelteilen bestehenden Waffe wurde 08/15 unter Soldaten zum Synonym für tägliche Routine, für etwas, das nichts Besonderes war. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg kamen die Maschinengewehre erneut zum Einsatz, galten aber als antiquiert, sodass 08/15 auch noch die Bedeutung "veraltete Massenware" und "Durchschnitt" erhielt.

Deutschlandweite Berühmtheit erlangte der Begriff dann in den fünfziger Jahren durch die drei Kriegsromane des Schriftstellers Hans Hellmut Kirst:


"08/15 Die abenteuerliche Revolte des Gefreiten Asch" (1954) (späterer Titel: "08/15 in der Kaserne")
"08/15 Die seltsamen Kriegserlebnisse des Soldaten Asch" (1954) (späterer Titel: "08/15 im Krieg")
"08/15 Der gefährliche Endsieg des Soldaten Asch" (1955) (späterer Titel: "08/15 bis zum Ende")
Die Trilogie wurde 1954 und 1955 mit Joachim Fuchsberger in der Hauptrolle verfilmt.

Eine ähnliche Karriere erlebte der "Otto Normalverbraucher", auch eine literarische Figur, die durch den Film "Berliner Ballade" in der Darstellung von Gerd Fröbe bekannt wurde und für den typischen Durchschnittskonsumenten steht."

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/zwiebelfisch/0,1518,311740,00.h...

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Note added at 14 mins (2006-10-17 08:43:37 GMT)
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"A revised version of the MG08 was produced in 1915 — the MG08/15 — which featured a bipod rather than the tripod mount plus a pistol grip. At 18 kg, it was lighter and less cumbersome and was intended to demonstrate better mobility on the battlefield; it nevertheless remained a bulky weapon which was chiefly used for defensive purposes. It was, however, put to some use as an aircraft weapon.

The designation lives on as an idiom in the German language, 08/15 (Null-acht-fünfzehn) being used like an adjective to denote something 'standardized', unremarkable or generic"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG_08

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Note added at 38 mins (2006-10-17 09:07:44 GMT)
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or even "Plain vanilla". My American husband suggests "run of the mill"

http://english2american.com/dictionary/b.html

Alison Schwitzgebel
France
Local time: 02:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 165

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Thomas Pfann: Exactly, not necessarily do with poor quality, just standard/ordinary/off the shelf.
5 mins
agree  Stephen Sadie: you often see "everyday products" too
10 mins
agree  Andrea Hauer: finde ich gut dafür. Allerdings wird 08/15 schon abwertend verwendet.
12 mins
agree  RobinB: What we'd call "bog standard", but not in translations of course....
28 mins
  -> Great definition of that one here: http://english2american.com/dictionary/b.html.
neutral  Cetacea: Ich finde "Standard" zu positiv für "08/15". Standard ist neutral, 08/15 abwertend.
28 mins
agree  Textklick: I'd say Robin's "bog standard", is spot on, as long as it is an internal document. 08/15 is, after all, colloquial (and see Andrea and Cetacea's notes).
1 hr
neutral  Aniello Scognamiglio (X): mit Cetacea! 08/15 ist definitiv abwertend! Probe aufs Exempel: 08/15-Übersetzung vs. Standardübersetzung!
2 hrs
disagree  M-A-Z: standard implies that the products are regular and usual while 08/15 doesn't say anything about standard or non-standard. It refers to the pair of opposites "special" and "non-special" and adds a negative connotation to "non-special"
2 days 23 hrs
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2 days 23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
nondescript products


Explanation:
08/15 does not imply "poor quality", but a not-so-excited nature of things

M-A-Z
Local time: 02:33
Works in field
PRO pts in category: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lancashireman: Prefer 'products of a not-so-excited nature'
6 hrs
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