A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

(William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’).

 

NOTE: I have been in Verona a few times, and on one occasion, I visited the balcony on which Juliet spoke to Romeo and vice versa. Above is the photograph that I took. If you want to have a photograph of yourself actually standing on this famous balcony, then you have to queue, wait and pay for the privilege. What most people forget is the fact that William Shakespeare wrote about this in his book, which was a fantasy of his imagination, and none of these people ever existed. The local authority of Verona thought it a good idea to build a balcony in this square for the tourists a few years ago. This balcony never existed before – not for 400 years – since Shakespeare wrote his story.

Of course, I was one of those stupid tourists taking photos of the famous Romeo and Juliet balcony……

 

NOTE: Business English, etc.
Can be found below the translation exercises.

Translate the Text into English: Übersetzen:

Susann, Andreas, Nadine, Heike, Reiner, and Simone.

Die Katze frisst die Ente.

Eine Spinne.

Der Vogel frisst ein Insekt.

Die Fliege.

Die Katze frisst Brot.

Der Junge isst Pizza und der Hund frisst Reis.

Das ist eine Fliege.

Sie hat ein Tier.

Du hast eine Ente. Ihr habt eine Ente.

Guten Morgen, Spinne, Auf Wiedersehen, Fliege!

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English – English – English – English – English – English – English

 

NOTE: This Clock Tower, in Verona, is a few hundred metres away from the famous Romeo and Juliet balcony. There is a lovely market here selling all sorts of goodies.

Business English Word of the Week:

Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:

A business word/phrase = An off day means that you have had a bad day. A day-off means you are having a day not working.

 

Law English Word of the Week:

Gesetz englisches Wort der Woche:

A law word/phrase = Confidentiality: Protects sensitive business and financial data shared during negotiations.

 

Vocabulary for Contracts:

Wortschatz für Verträge:

A word/phrase for contracts = When to Use an LOI.

LOIs are standard industry practice in several complex, high-stakes areas, including:

• Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

• Commercial Real Estate Purchases & Leases

• Large-Scale B2B Partnerships or Procurement

• Joint Ventures

For actionable advice on drafting or evaluating one of these documents, resources like Investopedia’s LOI Guide or Ironclad’s LOI Management Overview provide excellent overviews and structural templates. If you are currently drafting or negotiating an LOI, tell me a bit more about your situation to help us focus: What type of transaction is this for (e.g., business acquisition, commercial lease)? Do you need to ensure exclusivity or restrict the other party from speaking to competitors? Are there specific terms you want to make legally binding?

 

Vocabulary for Negotiations:

Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:

A word/phrase for negotiations = Flexitime – is a scheduling arrangement where employees work a required number of hours but have the freedom to choose their own daily start and finish times, often pivoting around mandatory “core hours”.

Sample Sentence:

“I would prefer to work flexitime as I have small children.”

English – English – English – English – English – English – English

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Note: The great man himself is standing like a victorious Gladiator in the arches of the great Roman Colosseum of Verona, Italy.

 

Word of the day: Wort des Tages:

Rumour – das Gerücht / die Rede

Sample Sentence:

“I heard a rumour that the President of the USA was quite mad!”

 

Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

This phrase is from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, Scene 2). Juliet laments that Romeo’s last name makes him her enemy, arguing that names are arbitrary labels that do not change a person’s true nature or worth.

Sample Sentence:

“‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet;
so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
retain that dear perfection which he owes
without that title.”

NOTE: I had a “Westie” once. A West Highland White Terrier whose full name was “Montague”, but we called him “Monty” for short, like Sir Bernard Law Montgomery (later 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein), was a legendary British Field Marshal during World War II. Affectionately known as “Monty,” he notably commanded the British Eighth Army in North Africa, securing a decisive victory at El Alamein against Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and led Allied ground forces during the invasion of Normandy.

 

Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:

“His bark is worse than his bite.”

 The idiom “his bark is worse than his bite” means a person’s words, threats, or angry outbursts are much more severe or frightening than their actual actions. It suggests that despite an intimidating exterior, they are not as aggressive or harmful as they might seem.

Sample Sentence:

“Oh, don’t worry about that old neighbour of yours, as his bark is worse than his bite! ”

 

British English / American English Vocabulary:

Britisches Englisch / Amerikanisches Englisch Wortschatz:

British English (B.E.) = Silencer – der Auspufftopf

American English (A.E.) = Muffler – Schalldämpfer

Sample Sentence:

“These words can mean different things within the context of the sentence. To me, a Silencer would usually mean the object that you screw to the end of a pistol or rifle to deaden the sound and a muffler would be an old word, in disuse, meaning a warm piece of material, like a scarf that A woman would wrap around their neck to keep warm.”

What does a silencer do on an exhaust?

The primary purpose of an exhaust silencer (often called a muffler) is to reduce the noise produced by internal combustion engines. It achieves this by disrupting and cancelling out the high-pressure sound waves and gas pulses generated during the combustion process, allowing for quieter, more comfortable operation.

 

Special Grammar Tip of the Week:

Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:

Our, ours, us – Unser, unser, uns – these three words often get mixed up in conversation. We will look at this in the lesson.

 

Pronunciation Tip: Aussprachetipp:

Floor – flaw are pronounced in the same way.

der Boden – der Stock – die Etage.

der Fehler – der Mangel – der Defekt.

PUNS/JOKES:

“Why do horses have such low divorce rates?

Because they’re in stable relationships.”

 

False Friends Tip of the Week:

Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:

German                    = Tafel

Translation              = Board

False Friend (F.F.)   = Bord

Meaning of F.F.        = Shelf

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English – English – English – English – English – English – English

Wit, wit, wit – Food:

Witz, Witz, Witz – Ausbildung:

“There is a machine that dispenses liquids that are allegedly ‘coffee’, ‘tea’, ‘hot chocolate’, and even ‘soup’, which all come from the same orifice and all taste exactly the same.”

Quote by Dave Barry.

 

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English – English – English – English – English – English – English

 

Slang word of the day:

Slangwort des Tages:

Codswallop – something made-up or not true.

Sample Sentence:

“Oh Codswallop of course, Greenland belongs to the Danish! Why doesn’t someone in the Oval Office tell him!?”

 

Colloquial / Colloquialisms:

Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:

Cheers (exclamation)

So you might know the word ‘cheers’ as the word you use to toast your drink in English. But, as the British like to be different, we also use it for something else. We use ‘cheers‘ to mean thank you and often use it sarcastically.

Sample Sentence:

“Do you want to help me clean the car?”

“Nah, I’m good, cheers.”

 

Cockney Rhyming Slang:

Cockney Reimender Slang:

Bo Peep – Sleep.

 

 

Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:

“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.”

George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill.

“Cannot possibly attend first night, I will attend the second…If there is one.”

– Winston Churchill, in response.

 

Always a good idea…. a glass of red wine to see the evening in.

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English – English – English – English – English – English – English

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