To be sold down the river
There are two ways to read this signpost. 1:) is that no crocodiles swim here, so it is safe; or 2.) There are crocodiles here, so do not swim.
“To be sold down the river” = means to betray someone or do something which harms them in order to gain an advantage for yourself. What happened to a person who was sold down the river?
In the 1800s, Black slaves were literally sold down the river. Slave traders travelled along the Mississippi River, selling enslaved people to plantation owners further south. There awaited inhumane conditions and brutal labour that often ended in death.
Sample Sentence:
“She has been sold down the river by the very man who was supposed to be protecting her.”
NOTE: Business English etc.
can be found below the translation exercises.
Translate the Text: Übersetzen:
Susann, Faten, Rico, Heike, Simone and Frank.
Wir leben noch.
Rennst du gern?
Sie ist vielleicht meine Katze.
Er ist immer müde.
Ich schlarfe schon.
Schwimmst du gern?
Nur Wasser, bitte.
Wir lesen gern die Zeitung.
Ihr lernt auch.
Es ist schon fertig.
Hallo, Ich bin auch Mark.
Ich auch.
Ich lese alleine.
Ich habe immer Hunger.
Alles ist schon fertig.
Noch einen bitte?
Es ist vielleicht ein Bär.
Die Katze spielt alleine.
Sie isst nur fleisch.
A tyre for a bicycle = Ein Reifen für ein Fahrrad. A bicycle has two wheels, whereas a tricycle (Dreirad) has three.
NOTE: The Americans spell the word TYRE incorrectly as you can see in the picture above. Tire means to ermüden/müde werden.
A poorly dressed man = ein schlecht gekleideter Mann.
Attire = die Kleidung / der Aufputz.
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Business English Word of the Week:
Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:
Appraisal – Würdigung
Sample Sentence:
“At the end of every year, each staff member has an appraisal meeting with their boss.”
Law English Word of the Week:
Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
The Last Will and Testament = Der letzte Wille und das Testament
Pledge – Versprechen to commit (a person or organization) by a solemn promise / to give as security on a loan. A thing that is given as security for the fulfilment of a contract or the payment of a debt and is liable to forfeiture in the event of failure.
“She had given the Rembrandt painting as a pledge to a creditor.“
“He was the creditor to whom the 100 hectares of land is pledged.“
Vocabulary for Contracts:
Wortschatz für Verträge:
on the Brink of something
Sample Sentence:
“The two companies were on the brink of completing the long drawn-out process of negotiating the contract when one company decided to pull out at the last minute.”
Vocabulary for Negotiations:
Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
Pledge – Versprechen a solemn promise or undertaking.
Sample Sentence:
“The Climate Change conference in Zurich, Switzerland ended with a joint pledge to limit pollution, which the American and Russian delegates completely ignored!“
Sample Sentence:
“To make a pledge.” Ein Versprechen abgeben.
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1974
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Word of the day: Wort des Tages:
Mislaid = Verlegt / verlegen / verkramen
Sample Sentence:
“Oh, dear! I seem to have mislaid the contract files that the C. E. O. has asked for.”
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
“to get back into the swing of things” = wieder in den Rhythmus kommen means a return to an activity or routine.
Sample Sentence:
“Mark’s having a hard time getting back into the swing of things after returning from his holiday in the Bahamas.”
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“As quick as a flash” means very quickly.
Sample Sentence:
“Once dinner was announced Homer was as quick as a flash at the side of the table.”
British English (B.E.) / American English (A.E.) Vocabulary:
Britisches Englisch / Amerikanisches Englisch Wortschatz:
British English (B.E.) = to queue (eine Schlange)
American English (A.E.) = to get in line
Sample Sentence:
“The British love to queue and will always queue neatly in a two by two straight line at the ski lifts, whilst complaining at the Germans and Austrians who just ski to the front of the queue!!!”
“The Americans are always first to get in line when it comes to getting a BOGOF offer in a department store!!!”
Special Grammar tip of the week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
Affected is a verb an action word.
The effect is a noun as an object.
Sample Sentences:
What is the effect of alcohol?
How has this affected you?
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
Six Czech cricket critics.
Try and say this sentence ten times quickly without a mistake.
Versuchen Sie, diesen Satz zehnmal schnell und fehlerfrei zu sagen.
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
German Translation False Friend (F.F.) Meaning of F.F.
Formular Form Formula Formel
Wit, wit, wit – Drink and Other Drugs:
Witz, Witz, Witz – Trinken und andere Drogen:
“If you drink raicilla straight down, you can feel it going into each individual intestine” Quote by Richard Burton.
Slang word of the day:
Slangwort des Tages:
Hunky-dory = fine; going well, all is well/good. This is a little piece of British slang that means a situation is cool, okay, or normal.
Sample Sentence:
“Don’t worry everything is hunky-dory.“
This American-coined adjective has been around since the 1860s, from the now-obsolete hunkey, “all right,” which stems from the New York slang hunk, “in a safe position,” and the Dutch root honk or “home.” The origin of dory is unknown.
Hunky Dory ist David Bowies viertes Studioalbum, das im Dezember 1971 bei RCA Records erschien.
Colloquial / Colloquialisms:
Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:
Bugger all. This is used to mean ‘nothing at all’.
Sample Sentence:
“I know bugger all about mathematics!”
“At university today we did bugger all the entire day, as the lecturers were on strike!” said the student. The Father replied, “You should be used to that!”
Cockney rhyming slang:
Cockney reimender Slang:
Jimmy = Jimmy Riddle (an unknown person) = piddle or widdle (to urinate = urinieren).
Sample Sentence:
“I’ll be back in a minute, I’m just going for a quick Jimmy Riddle.“
“The Tom Cat has just widdled all over your music sheets!”
“Someone has piddled all over the bathroom floor!”
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