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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

wos der bauer nit kennt, frisst er nit

English translation: what the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat i.e. a rejection of newfangled affairs little understood.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:wos der bauer nit kennt, frisst er nit
English translation:what the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat i.e. a rejection of newfangled affairs little understood.
Entered by: Alex Crichton

06:24 Sep 7, 2005
German to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Region (source):
German term or phrase: wos der bauer nit kennt, frisst er nit
This is something in Tirolean dialect, no idea what this might mean.
kvaloy (X)
Local time: 12:40
Not to get involved in affairs little understood.
Explanation:
I don´t know the English equivalent, but it means that someone will not have anything to do with something unfamiliar to him. Like not investing in an industry you don´t understand.

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Note added at 56 mins (2005-09-07 07:21:16 GMT)
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More like "You can´t teach an old dog new tricks."
Selected response from:

Alex Crichton
Spain
Local time: 10:40
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5Not to get involved in affairs little understood.
Alex Crichton
4 +4It literally means
Nancy Arrowsmith
3 +4Old habits die hard.
Anne Schulz
4he sticks to what he knows (best)
David Hollywood
4Can't teach an old dog new tricks
Teresa Reinhardt


  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Old habits die hard.


Explanation:
"Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das (fr)isst er nicht" means (literally), "What a farmer doesn't know, he won't eat".

Anne Schulz
Germany
Local time: 10:40
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Steffen Walter
21 mins
neutral  Alex Crichton: Sorry guys, but I beg to differ: I think the phrase refers to strarting a new habit rather than kicking an old one.
34 mins
  -> That's what I felt, Alex - but "Old habits die hard" is the only saying I found suggested as an equivalent, while everything else is just explanations.
neutral  Trans-Marie: agree with Alex
50 mins
  -> Thank you, Manuela - please see my comment to Alex.
agree  BrigitteHilgner: Pons/Collins suggests: You can't change the habits of a lifetime. So we are at least moving into the right direction. :-)
51 mins
agree  moser.ilja
1 hr
agree  Mario Marcolin
1 day 13 hrs
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55 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
Not to get involved in affairs little understood.


Explanation:
I don´t know the English equivalent, but it means that someone will not have anything to do with something unfamiliar to him. Like not investing in an industry you don´t understand.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 56 mins (2005-09-07 07:21:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

More like "You can´t teach an old dog new tricks."

Alex Crichton
Spain
Local time: 10:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Oliver Annacker
31 mins
  -> Thankeschön.
agree  Tamara Ferencak: I'd prefer the "old dog" version...:-)
55 mins
  -> Thankeschön.
agree  Jeannie Graham: Yes - I think "You can´t teach an old dog new tricks." sums this up nicely
1 hr
  -> Thanks.
agree  Frosty: Absolutely - and the term is not restricted just to Tirol, I`ve also heard it here in the Pfalz and in NRW
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Rebecca Garber: the old dog works well here
6 hrs
  -> Most obliged.
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
he sticks to what he knows (best)


Explanation:
my take :) (set phrase in English)

Jon knows how to tear the club up and he sticks to what he knows best

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Note added at 3 hrs 54 mins (2005-09-07 10:19:15 GMT)
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writing his own book, he opted to stick to what he knows best—fantasy. ...


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Note added at 3 hrs 55 mins (2005-09-07 10:20:01 GMT)
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you can also say: "he sticks WITH what he knows (best)"

David Hollywood
Local time: 05:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 47
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Can't teach an old dog new tricks


Explanation:
The closest equivalent I can come up with; high usage colloquial (US) English

Teresa Reinhardt
United States
Local time: 01:40
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
It literally means


Explanation:
that farmers will not eat anything they do not already know.
They are very conservative about trying new things, and especially conservative about trying new-fangled foods that they do not already know.
As far as I know, there is no equivalent saying in English.

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Note added at 13 hrs 23 mins (2005-09-07 19:48:34 GMT)
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Exactly - like the children of farmers who always refuse food if it is offered to them - it takes a while for them to warm up and accept new things.

Nancy Arrowsmith
Local time: 02:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Anne Spitzmueller: Exactly, in a wider context it means that somebody is extremely conservative about everything, not open to anything new, preferring to stick to the old and known.
19 mins
agree  Ulrike Kraemer
29 mins
agree  franglish: used by my mother when refused something offhand
1 hr
agree  Bjørn Anthun: with Anne
6 hrs
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