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auspowern

English translation: to work / burn off something

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:auspowern
English translation:to work / burn off something
Entered by: gfish

11:47 May 27, 2006
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Slang /
German term or phrase: auspowern
Wenn mir die Probleme über den Kopf wachsen, ich meine Gedanken nicht mehr ordnen kann, dann muss ich raus, Dampf ablassen, mich ***auspowern***. Ich ziehe meine Laufschuhe an und renne ein bis zwei Stunden. Danach ist mein Kopf wieder frei.

TIA!
gfish
Local time: 04:49
to work off something
Explanation:
Ich würde "auspowern" hier mit "to work off something" oder "to get exhausted/to calm down" übersetzen.
Selected response from:

Gudrun Dauner
United States
Grading comment
thx to everyone: habe alles sehr hilfreich gefunden!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1burn off some energy
Maurite Fober
3 +1to work off something
Gudrun Dauner
3wear myself out
JSolis
3shut down
Trudy Peters
2get/put myself through a real work-out
Francis Lee (X)


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to work off something


Explanation:
Ich würde "auspowern" hier mit "to work off something" oder "to get exhausted/to calm down" übersetzen.

Gudrun Dauner
United States
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
thx to everyone: habe alles sehr hilfreich gefunden!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  misterherrnau: that's it: "to work off my frustrations and come home blissfully exhausted"
1 hr
neutral  HarryHedgehog: What exactly is being "worked off" here? I don't think this has anything to do with "calming down".
3 hrs
  -> As I didn't find "auspowern" in the dictionary I looked up "abreagieren" as the closest in meaning: "etwas abreagieren - to work off something / sich abreagieren - to calm down." But I do prefer "to work off."
neutral  Francis Lee (X): But work off what? Isn't "something" a bit vague?
1 day 19 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
wear myself out


Explanation:
another option...

JSolis
United States
Local time: 07:49
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
burn off some energy


Explanation:
very common expression in colloquial register

Example sentence(s):
  • The kids need some time to play outside so they can burn off some energy.
Maurite Fober
Australia
Local time: 21:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  HarryHedgehog
27 mins
  -> Thanks!
disagree  misterherrnau: I don't think he has an excess of energy. He's got some problems that have him a little worked up.
1 hr
  -> Yes, that's what I understood too, and the physical activity is therapeutic as it helps get rid of negative energy and clear the mind.
agree  Olaf (X): Siehe http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/zwiebelfisch/0,1518,372394,00.h...
1 hr
  -> Thank you for the site ref!
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
get/put myself through a real work-out


Explanation:
Minimal context = minimal CL ;-)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2006-05-27 14:53:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

- lose/burn off some mental calories / get rid of some excess (emotional) baggage

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2006-05-27 17:29:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Strange. I could swear that Maruite's "burn off energy" wasn't there when I added my last note, erm, your honour ... Anyway "mental calories" are something different, after all.

Francis Lee (X)
Local time: 13:49
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
shut down


Explanation:
I'm thinking along the lines of shutting down one's brain. Or - gasp! - power down? And then he goes out and does something physical.

Trudy Peters
United States
Local time: 07:49
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
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