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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

wie Pudel begossene

English translation:

dejected-looking

Added to glossary by Alan Campbell
Sep 17, 2010 21:26
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

dastehen wie ein begossener Pudel

German to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Drowned rats or crestfallen?
This is from an eyewitness account of border police tactics to try to disperse a crowd using fire hoses as water cannons. However, when they do so, the hoses burst and the crowd of people laugh and cheer. The question I have is does "wie Pudel begossenen" mean that the guards were drenched by the water that went everywhere when the hoses burst, i.e. they "looked like drowned rats", or does it mean that they're standing there, looking all sheepish and forlorn (crestfallen?) because their plan backfired and made them look ridiculous?

"Alle Schläuche platzten [...] und die wie Pudel begossenen Grenzer taten mir schon fast leid."

According to dict.cc, "Er stand da wie ein begossener Pudel" means "He looked crestfallen", whereas "wie ein begossener Pudel aussehen" means "to look like a drowned rat". As there's no "stehen" or "aussehen" in my sentence, and seeing as the guards could easily have been drenched by the water when the hoses burst, I'm not sure which meaning is right.

If someone could tell me which is the right interpretation, I'd greatly appreciate it! I'd also like to know how you can tell which is the right meaning. Many thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
5 to stand there looking like an idiot
References
Wie ein begossener Pudel
Change log

Sep 18, 2010 09:31: Astrid Elke Witte changed "Term asked" from "wie Pudel begossenen" to "dastehen wie ein begossener Pudel"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Rosa Paredes

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Discussion

hazmatgerman (X) Sep 22, 2010:
@A.C. very well then, and off to new frontiers we'll go. Regards.
Alan Campbell (asker) Sep 22, 2010:
I'm sorry that you feel that way, hazmatgerman - if I had've been able to respond sooner, I would have done. I think it's a shame that you've withdrawn your comments, etc., as even though there weren't many suggested answers, there was certainly an interesting discussion. I, for one, quite often read the alternative suggestions and comments made, and not just the selected answer, for, as I'm sure you know, a term or phrase can mean many different things, depending on the context (as this discussion showed). I do hope that no one else feels that their input is a waste of time, as I'm sure that that's not the case. I greatly appreciate any help that's been offered and it has certainly broadened my horizons! I've now added a few ducks and alleycats to my personal idiom knowledge bank!
hazmatgerman (X) Sep 20, 2010:
@A.C. it would have been helpful to know from the beginning what the target region is; plus a question to that effect remained unanswered. Might have saved several people their efforts, and the absence of feedback was the reason why I withdrew my previous comments and questions.
Alan Campbell (asker) Sep 20, 2010:
Many thanks to you all for such an interesting discussion.

Thanks for your comment, Bernhard - I don't know why I put "dastehen wie ein begossener Pudel" as the term - I could have sworn I put "die wie Pudel begossenen Grenzer"!

It's definitely British English that's required here, so no alleycats, ducks or poodles (as entertaining as that would be, I fear I would be soon out of a job!), I'm afraid. The "drowned rat" idiom is the only one that would work, but I've a feeling that it's more important to stress the fact that they ended up looking stupid, so I think I'll put something along the lines of:

"I almost felt sorry for the rather dejected-looking border guards"

Thanks again for all your help and a very interesting discussion!
Bernhard Sulzer Sep 18, 2010:
@Annett I like your solution, it has both, the description of the border police getting showered and the silliness and humiliation, since they are smart cats. Can you post it as an answer?:)
Annett Kottek (X) Sep 18, 2010:
UK or US English? They looked like 'drenched alley cats'?
Wendy Streitparth Sep 18, 2010:
I think if you look like a drowned rat, you probably look pretty crestfallen anyway, so I'd go for that!
Susanne Rindlisbacher Sep 17, 2010:
Andrea: Ja, habe auch gedacht, dass beide Bilder irgendwie stimmen. Ideal wäre eine englische Redewendung mit "verdutzt" und "nass".
Bernhard Sulzer Sep 17, 2010:
@Alan your entry should be "wie Pudel begossene" or "wie die Pudel begossenen Grenzer", for grammatical and glossary reasons.
Please fix it once it goes to the glossary unless a moderator corrects it before that. Thank you! :)
Andrea Winzer Sep 17, 2010:
Agree mit Susanne. Meiner Meinung nach würde sowohl "they looked like drowned rats" oder "they looked like ducks in a thunderstorm/stunned ducks" passen - denn diese Phrasen geben den Anblick der triefend nassen, verdutzten Polizisten quasi bildlich wieder.
Susanne Rindlisbacher Sep 17, 2010:
Die Redensart ist "dastehen wie ein begossener Pudel" und bedeutet, sich in einer peinlichen Situation zu befinden.

Proposed translations

41 mins
German term (edited): wie Pudel begossenen
Selected

to stand there looking like an idiot

Something went wrong...
2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for your suggestion - I'm selecting this as the best answer (quite apart from the fact that it was the only one) because it was closest in meaning to what I eventually put ("dejected-looking"), but I've awarded only 2 points, as it's a little colloquial for the context."

Reference comments

12 hrs
Reference:

Wie ein begossener Pudel

'Der Vergleich ist umgangssprachlich im Sinne von 'kleinlaut, beschämt' gebräuchlich: Er schlich sich davon wie ein begossener Pudel. Der Redner stand auf der BüŸhne wie ein begossener Pudel. - Die Wendung geht von der Beobachtung aus, dass ein Hund, der nass geworden ist, oft einen kläglichen oder komischen Eindruck macht.'
Duden - Das grosse Buch der Zitate und Redewendungen, Mannheim 2002 [CD-ROM]

'Drenched poodle' gets a few hits, e.g.

'It rained all day today. It rained yesterday. Last Tuesday it poured all day, and I had to run two errands in the middle of the day, so sat at my desk looking and feeling like a drenched poodle.'
http://www.pattjackson.com/

Cf. also:

'Dr Goebbels looked downcast and self-absorbed, “ike the proverbial drenched poodle,” Schmidt thought.'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/world-war-2/61275...

'His highly partial account of the July plot includes an unflattering portrait of Count von Stauffenberg ("a drenched poodle") who planted the bomb that failed to kill Hitler.'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/07/history-biograph...

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Note added at 12 hrs (2010-09-18 09:42:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In answer to your question, I think that it's both. The guards did literally get wet, which is why they then looked sheepish or like the figurative 'drenched poodles'.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Bernhard Sulzer
4 hrs
Thank you, Bernhard. Also for your suggestion to post 'alley cats' as an answer. I'm waiting for the asker to confirm if US English is appropriate here. :-)
agree Uta Kappler
12 hrs
Thank you, Uta.
Something went wrong...
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