This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. German to English
  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

jemanden den Rücken freihalten

English translation: to take the load off from someone

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:jemanden den Rücken freihalten
English translation:to take the load off from someone
Entered by: Raghunathan Rajagopalan

10:21 May 24, 2006
German to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
German term or phrase: jemanden den Rücken freihalten
Wir halten Ihnen den Rücken frei!
Was heißt es genau auf Englisch?
"We've got your back" oder "We'll take the weight off your shoulders" oder ist es etwas total anders?
brza
Local time: 09:36
to take the load off from someone
Explanation:
sharing his responsibility, or free-up his time by taking some of his work
Selected response from:

Raghunathan Rajagopalan
Local time: 13:06
Grading comment
Thanks a lot. I think in the context this is the best answer.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6We free you up to do what you need to do.
Lori Dendy-Molz
3 +1to take the load off from someone
Raghunathan Rajagopalan


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to take the load off from someone


Explanation:
sharing his responsibility, or free-up his time by taking some of his work

Raghunathan Rajagopalan
Local time: 13:06
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks a lot. I think in the context this is the best answer.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X)
10 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
We free you up to do what you need to do.


Explanation:
...it really depends entirely on the context. "We've got your back" could also be fine (at least for US audience).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 48 mins (2006-05-24 11:09:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'We've got you covered' might also work for US audience

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-05-24 11:40:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"We take care of life's hassles so you don't have to"

The context where I've seen this phrase applied the most is in describing the wives of male politicians or industrialists -- they stayed in the background taking care of the kids and life's nuisances so their husbands could concentrate on their rise to greatness.

Lori Dendy-Molz
Germany
Local time: 09:36
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 14

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ian M-H (X): Yes, depending - as you say - on context. But I needed help to confirm that I'd guessed "we've got your back" correctly ;-) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3980999.stm
6 mins
  -> I suspected that was strictly US usage. It stems from the military, but is also used colloquially to mean 'we'll take care of it for you'
agree  Nicole Schnell: We free you up is very nice. No military Rückendeckung needed here.
15 mins
  -> Thanks, Nicole.
agree  Craig Meulen: As a Brit I wouldn't have understood "we've got your back"
24 mins
  -> Thanks, Craig. It's similar to 'we've got you covered,' which I think is also mainly US usage and has a similar military/law enforcement background.
agree  Diana Loos: IMO "free you up" is one of those dreadful examples of a superfluous preposition; "we`ve got your covered" sounds like a Western or a Krimi, spoken by a policeman or sherriff with drawn Colt; "we`ve got your back" says nothing to me at all.
4 hrs
  -> Yep, they're pretty tired clichés. 'Got your back' is pretty current in the US, though.
agree  Teresa Reinhardt: see my note to Asker re the precedent//They might be teachable, don't you think? ;-)
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Teresa. Seems to be lost on our UK colleagues, though.
agree  Francis Lee (X): "We've got you covered" would've been my primary association; as for "We've got your back" - naja, ich verstehe schon was gemeint ist = "got your back covered", but give it a year and my TV-addict compatriots in the 51st state will also be saying it ;-)
12 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search