mit einem "blauen Brief"

English translation: letter of warning

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:"blauen Brief"
English translation:letter of warning
Entered by: Jessica Klingberg

14:01 Jun 23, 2004
German to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
German term or phrase: mit einem "blauen Brief"
Wer sich wie Hopkins in der Öffentlichkeit zu den AA bekennt, muss laut Santon mit enem "blauen Brief" aus dem hauptquartier in New York rechnen.

I don't know much about Alcoholics Anonymous, though I do know that "The Big Book" is their guide. What is this reference to a "blauer Brief"? Is The Big Book blue, or is this a reference to something else altogether?
Jessica Klingberg
United States
Local time: 08:18
Pink slip or letter of dismissal
Explanation:
... or maybe just a warning letter ...

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Note added at 3 mins (2004-06-23 14:04:48 GMT)
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It\'s not something good, in any case.

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Note added at 5 mins (2004-06-23 14:06:28 GMT)
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A warning letter is more appropriate for an educational setting, not in a corporation (as is apparently the case here).
Selected response from:

MichaelRS (X)
Local time: 13:18
Grading comment
Reading everyone's commentaries I was able to gather that a "letter of warning" (a stern one at that) is indeed what was meant - I don't think it is an actual dismissal from AA, but rather a final warning.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3Pink slip or letter of dismissal
MichaelRS (X)
5 +2progress report
Edhild
3marching orders...
Cilian O'Tuama


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
mit einem
Pink slip or letter of dismissal


Explanation:
... or maybe just a warning letter ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 mins (2004-06-23 14:04:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It\'s not something good, in any case.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 mins (2004-06-23 14:06:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A warning letter is more appropriate for an educational setting, not in a corporation (as is apparently the case here).

MichaelRS (X)
Local time: 13:18
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Reading everyone's commentaries I was able to gather that a "letter of warning" (a stern one at that) is indeed what was meant - I don't think it is an actual dismissal from AA, but rather a final warning.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  John Bowden
2 mins

agree  Kim Metzger: Here's a nice explanation: http://www.proz.com/kudoz/149034
4 mins

agree  Nancy Arrowsmith: He will be fired if he admits to being an alcoholic, nothing to do with blue book.
3 hrs
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
progress report


Explanation:
a "blauer Brief" warns about failing
grades in the German School System as do progress reports in the US - I lived with Children in Germany and New Jersey and speak from knowledge...

Edhild
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Heidi Stone-Schaller: yes a blauer Brief is not pink slip, it's a serious and final warning--besides the "blau" here is a play on words (blau--drunk)
5 mins

agree  Katrin Atienza (X)
8 hrs
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
blauer Brief
marching orders...


Explanation:
(letter of) dismissal, F marching orders, Amerikanisches Englisch F pink slip, b) Schule (letter of) warning;

punished for publicly outing themselves as alcoholics?

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Note added at 7 mins (2004-06-23 14:08:24 GMT)
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forgot the source, Langenscheidt

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Note added at 21 mins (2004-06-23 14:23:08 GMT)
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more info found in Collins:
A blauer Brief is a letter from a school telling parents that their child is in danger of having to repeat a year. Until the mid-1970s it was actually delivered in a blue envelope. Blauer Brief is also a colloquial term for the dismissal notice issued by a firm. This derives from the time when officers learnt of their discharge from the army by means of a letter in a blue envelope.

Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 13:18
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 72
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