GEFÜHL & MORAL
die Emotionen können hochkochen/sehr intensiv sein = emotions/tempers may flare/escalate during an argument/discussion; emotions/ tensions are mounting/still bubbling away/boiling over/running strong/high/hot; the patient was overflown with emotions; don’t let the mask of composure slip/drop; the hard-fought victory was emotionally draining/straining; strong emotions welled up when he heard that marvelous song; that ceremony was an emotionally charged/laced occasion; I just let the emotions get the best of me; emotions can muddle one’s thinking; she went into an emotional tailspin; she kept her emotions to herself; he was overcome with joy; I feel emotionally drained; his voice is wavering with choked-up emotion; people are sometimes overly affectionate
ich habe auf mein Bauchgefühl/meinen Instinkt gehört = I didn’t mean it, it was just a knee-jerk reaction on my part
manchmal muss man seinem Instinkt folgen = sometimes you have to trust/follow your gut (instinct)
ich/sie/er musste mit den Tränen kämpfen = she was fighting back the tears; I was next to tears after seeing that sentimental/mushy movie; her eyes are watering up; he’s going/growing misty-eyed; to wipe away tears running down one’s face; for the kids it was a chicken-skin/goosebumps moment; he was trying to fight back emotions/wiping away tears as he watched the movie; the students felt/were overwhelmed with emotion when they heard the horrible news of the school bus accident
manche Leute versuchen, Tränen immer zu verdrücken = some people always try to choke back tears
er/sie waren vollkommen überrascht/baff = he was wide-eyed/astounded/astonished when he found out he got promoted; certain unexpected happenings always leave people stunned/non-plussed/flabbergasted/awe-struck
sie war überwältigt als sie der Königin begegnete/die Statue von Christus, dem Erlöser sah = she was gasping in/ overcome with awe/ awestruck when she met the queen/saw the statue of Christ the Redeemer
ihm/mir/ihr blieb die Spucke/Sprache weg = he did a double take upon hearing the great news; this film/book blew my mind/took my breath away
er findet keinen Trost mehr = he can no longer get/find/take solace in/from music/alcohol; finishing a distant third in the contest meant/ was only cold comfort for her
es bringt nichts = no use putting a band-aid, just let it bleed
nach einem Krieg führten viele Leute ein trostloses Leben = for many people life was emptied out by the war
manchmal fühlt man sich kraftlos = sometimes a feeling of futility overpowers one’s senses
das war für die Katz/umsonst = that was another/an exercise in futility/a wild goose chase; giving a millionaire lots of presents is like carrying coals to Newcastle; all this effort was for the birds/for naught; that was a Pyrric victory; no use charging at windmills/flogging dead horses
egal wie lange du mit ihm diskutierst, es bringt sowieso nichts = you can go on arguing with him till you’re blue in the face
er ist zwar ein Genie/ein Überflieger aber hat wenig Selbstbewusstsein = my cousin is a genius/a whiz kid but he suffers under low self–esteem
sie/er ist durch den Wind/ein bisschen verpeilt = she/he feels a little out of synch/confused/in a tizzy/absent-minded/out of or off kilter/ distressed/shellshocked/in a state of mental disorder
manchmal steht er auf dem Schlauch = sometimes he doesn’t know whether he’s Arthur or Martha (AUS)
man muss sich im Zaum halten = you need to calm down/control your emotional swings/reel yourself in/hold your horses
ich bin nicht sauer auf sie/ihn/dich = I don’t have any hard feelings toward him/her; "no sour grapes", she/he said
es lohnt sich nicht, sauer auf eine Person zu sein = it’s just not worth to harbor ill will toward a person
er/sie gehört zu den Menschen, die immer versuchen, mit dem etwas üppigen/teuren Lebensstil der Nachbarn mitzuhalten = he/she is the kind of person, who always tries to keep up with the Joneses (i.e. to have a similar lifestyle and expensive taste as the neighbors)
er/sie ist mega-sauer auf die Klimaschutzstrategie der Regierung = he/she was up in arms about/over the government's climate conservation strategy
sein Ego was äußerst angeschlagen = his ego has been heavily bruised
es ist nicht so schlimm/nur halb so wild = it isn’t/ain’t that bad; it's not so bad after all
sie hasst Menschen, die päpstlicher sind als der Papst = she hates people who preach holier-than-thou attitudes/values; some people try to be more catholic/holier than the Pope
er ist/wurde sehr religiös vor ein paar Monaten = he's got religion/got religion a few months ago
er ist ein übermäßig religiöser und selbstgerechter Mensch = he’s an overly pious and self-righteous person, you know … a holy Joe
eine Welle des religiösen Fanatismus überschwemmt das Land = a wave of religious fanaticism is sweeping over the land
manche Leute geben gerne den Moralapostel/Prinzipienreiter = he is tired of listening to his father’s holy-joe lectures every day; the boss said he was not here to moralise; the priest delivered/gave the congregation a sweet sermon/lecture on love and matrimony; some people assume the mantle of moral guardians/crusaders of society; nowadays there too many wokish people around
Moral predigen = the preacher likes to administer moral pronouncements; every now and then the priests remind churchgoers to reflect upon their moral values; bible-bashers/bible-bangers are said to embark on moralistic crusades; “I still hold out the hope that our moral values are not lost on my son”, the father said; some people always have to take a moral stand; he/she came over like a schoolmaster and warned them about the evils of alcohol
in der Gemeinschaft, in der ich lebe, gibt es viele Moralapostel/Weltverbesserer/ Spießer/Spießbürger, die meinen, dass ihr Lebensstil/ihr Verhalten/ihre Überzeugungen/Werte und Einstellungen moralisch richtig sind im Vergleich zu allen anderen, die sie für falsch halten (d.h. die nicht so gut sind wie sie sind) = in the community where I live there are many righteous/self-righteous/ sanctimonious/bourgeois persons, who think their lifestyle/bevavior/beliefs/values and attitudes are morally right in comparison to all others, who(m) they consider to be wrong (i.e. not as good as they are)
die Moral wird zusehends schlechter/rauer = these days modern society seems to be losing its moral compass; in our school moral standards are down; older folks sometimes lament/ regret the decline in moral standards/values in today’s society; our government appears to be descending into a mire of chaos and corruption; the moral rot in the office/in society needs to be stopped/stemmed; morale is eroding/plummeting all over the place
manche Menschen predigen Wasser und trinken Wein = some people don’t practice what they preach; some politicians are very skilled/ adept at protecting double standards; one should never compromise one’s morals/beliefs when facing sticky issues; double-thinking in regard to ethics should not be practiced
Führungskräfte wehren sich, wenn ihnen Doppelmoral vorgeworfen wird = executives defend themselves against claims of double standards
überall gibt es Spießer/Spießbürger = the math teacher is the scold of the school as she always finds fault with just about everybody, pupils or fellow teachers alike; rednecks are bigoted people who have a small-town mentality; suburbanites prefer to stick to a
conservative life style and culture
meine Eltern sind zu spießig = my folks are pretty uncool/square, at times even obnoxious
einige jüngere Menschen haben eine Abneigung gegen aufgeblasene, gemeine, sture und hartnäckige alte Böcke, die vor allem ihnen gegenüber missbilligend sind = some younger people dislike pompous, mean, stubborn and hard-nosed old goats/old fogeys/fuddy-duddies, who are disapproving of them
Bürger zeigen Zivilcourage bzw. treten für ihre moralischen/religiösen Werte ein = civic duty is when law-abiding citizens witness a crime and muster/summon the courage to report it; sometimes it pays to stand up/show the courage of one’s convictions; many citizens show/display civic concern; have–a-go citizens save officer from assailant; passers-by rescue policeman under attack; courageous bystanders rushed to help the wounded; that was a display of bravery beyond the call (of duty); one should work up/pluck up the courage to do something; not many people have the guts to stand up and act, although many citizens still stand up for their moral/religious leanings/ values; he/ she is a leading voice on gun control
keine Zivilcourage/moralischen Werte zeigen = a few top executives show no moral leadership nowadays; some people say that running away from the scene of a car accident is an act of moral cowardice; false moral values are dragging our country down; person loses his/her moral compass; in federal politics there seems to be a void/a lack of leadership; that was just youthful bravado; spare us the zealots/pious letztendlich wird hier über moralische Werte diskutiert = the issue at stake seems to be going/descending into some sort of morality discussion
sie ist/tut immer sehr naiv/sehr brav = she always behaves as a goody two-shoes girl/woman
wenn Personen sehr besserwisserisch/oberlehrerhaft klingen = this backseat driver/armchair general is trying again to tell us what to do; there are too many backseat drivers in my department/company; you’re sounding preachy/too judgemental; this wise guy/smart aleck/ dude is getting preachy again on me; Quit the moralizing, will you?; teenagers dislike being preached at by older folks; my father has a penchant for lecturing all family members over good manners; he is sick and tired of listening to her/his meticulous bookish/schoolmarmish tone/learned voice again; here comes that voice of sanity again; I don’t like my uncle’s know-it-all attitude/finger-wagging; some of my mentor teachings/lessons still reign true in today’s world/apply to the world of sports; I'm tired of my dad's words of wisdom; nobody likes a know-it-all
sie/er glaubt, die Stimme der Vernunft zu sein = she/he thinks she/he is the voice of sanity/reason
hör auf mich zu behandeln wie ein Kind = stop nannying me ... don’t treat me like a child
es geht schon an die Substanz, wenn mein Vater immer sagt, dass ich ihm nie zuhöre = it really cuts deep/hits me hard when my father always says that I never listen to him
laute und unsittliche Jugendliche werden hin und wieder “gemahnt und gedroht” von älteren Herrschaften = every now and then older folks wag their fingers/tut at errant/disordely teenagers over their noisy behavior and pranks; my uncle always fusses over his wayward nephew
es lohnt sich zu überlegen, bevor man ein Urteil vorschnell fällt = = it pays to dig a little deeper before passing judgment
Anti-Establishment Künstler/Schriftsteller ecken oft an = anti-establishment artists are good examples of persons who enjoy disregarding society's rules/regulations/conduct codes; the renowned best-seller author notoriously annoys the establishment/gives shortshrift to certain rules/conventions he absolutely dislikes/abhors; with his brashness, controversial manner and anti-establishment shtick he always seems to polarize opinion
die konservativen/traditionellen Werte der alten Aristokratie/des verarmten Adels/haben heutzutage an Bedeutung/Wichtigkeit verloren = the conservative/traditional values of the impoverished/declining/watered-down aristocracy/washed-up aristocrats are no longer contemporary/up-to-date
alte Traditionen/Bräuche/Beziehungen bröckeln = old traditions/beliefs sometimes form cracks/break down/fall apart
die einst freundliche Beziehungen zwischen beiden Ländern werden etwas distanzierter = the once friendly ties/relationship between both countries are beginning to crumble/unravel/deteriorate/are at arm's length right now
die Fassade beginnt zu bröckeln/zerbröseln = unity is falling apart/is beginning to fray
in dieser heilen Welt zeigen sich die ersten Risse = cracks are starting to appear/to show/to form in this intact world of ours
