VERSAGEN & BLAMAGE

er/sie hat sich blamiert = she came a cropper/to grief trying to make money in the share market; the old popstar laid a goose/a big egg yesterday in his comeback concert; the famous actress totally bombed (out)/laid an egg when she tried to play the piano; the budding football star experienced some cringeinducing/cringemaking/cringeworthy/embarassing/cringey moments when he was interviewed for TV; being passed up/ over for promotion was a kick in the pants for the young executive’s ego; the painful defeat at the polls was a comedown/climbdown/ humiliation/demolition for the confident/ambitioned politician

das war eine Megapleite = that was a complete/total/huge bust

er hat die A-Karte gezogen = he got/ended up getting the rough end of the pineapple/the short end of the stick

Immer ich!/Ich ziehe immer die A-Karte, da meine Kumpels zu Parties gehen und ich arbeiten muss = Woe is me, as I always have to work while my mates go partying 

er/sie wurde auf frischer Tat ertappt = he/she was caught red-handed/with his/her hand in the cookie jar

er/sie hat sich eine Blöße gegeben = not being able to answer simple questions at the exam was an embarrassing situation/time for me; with that poorly-timed action/stunt he fell flat on his face/scored an own goal; when that girl finally talked to me I was left red-faced; the CEO’s discriminatory views on racism reflected poorly on the company; my sister made a fool of herself when she tried/attemped to dance the tango; it was a botched/bungled attempt at repairing the car/singing that song

sie/er steht vor einem Scherbenhaufen = her whole life was left in tatters/fell to pieces after she split up with her husband; after being unfairly dismissed/slam-dunked from his job his world/dreams came tumbling down/crashing down/fell apart; many people go to pieces/ end in embers in the face of adversity; with the stock-market crash all my projects have been blown/split to smithereens

der Regen hat uns einen Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht = heavy rain threw a spanner in the works of/put a spoke in the wheels of/cast a pall on our barbecue party; our outdoor party went to pot/to the dogs when the storm came up all of a sudden

das Auto/der Computer/etwas ist außer Betrieb/im Eimer/im Arsch/hinüber = this machine/gadget is out of order/out of whack/on the blink/banged up/buggered (AUS/UK); my computer just went phut; the car/the bike is clapped out/has had it/is on the fritz/is in tatters; after the storm too many phone lines were jammed; my TV is busted/acting up; the whole system is dysfunctional/is out of sync/is shot; the local telephone network is completely out of service/out of action/out of commission   

das Projekt ist hinüber/ging über die Wupper = our project went bust/down the drain/ belly-up; the corporation was hit for six when the lucrative government contract was suddenly cancelled/scrapped/wiped/killed off  

der Tod meines Onkels hat mich sehr mitgenommen = the news of my uncle’s passing hit me for six/tore me apart

dies ist schiefgegangen/wir haben Mist gebaut; er/sie hat den Karren an/gegen die Wand gefahren = I still don’t know/I’m still wondering what went wrong/awry; it was a recipe for disaster; the plan/game took an ugly turn/was a dumpster fire; we just hit the wall; soon things began to sour/to head/go south; our elaborate project just went up in smoke/ down the drain/gurgler/tube/belly-up; things are turning sour; the cunning scheme was brought undone by the lack of adequate financial support; after breaking up with his girlfriend his life came unraveled; the team’s strategy fell by the wayside/just bit the dust; When did all go wrong? Where did we go wrong?

es geht meistens schief, wenn man Sachen nach Gutdünken macht =  things usually don’t  work out/go wrong  when you do them by the seat of your pants/when you throw expertise  overboard  

das Projekt wurde im Hauruckverfahren geplant  = that was a rough-and-tumble/slam-bang project planning; they planned the whole project by the seat of their pants

dies war eine Hauruckaktion = all of a sudden the company moved/shifted the goalposts; this was a knee-jerk reaction/reponse; they carried out the job slam-bang/with a slam and a bang/with a bit of rough-and-tumble     

sie/er wird der Sache nicht gerecht = she/he didn't lived up to the hype/didn't measure up to the usual standards; what she/he did wasn’t up to snuff/scratch; she/he didn't cut it 

alles was schiefgehen konnte, ist schiefgegangen = it was the perfect storm for the banking community: high inflation, falling earnings, surging exchange rate and deserting customers; it was the perfect storm for our barbecue party: lots of guests didn’t show up, it rained like hell, the caterer was late with the food deliveries and we ran out of beer before the party was over; the best laid plans can go awry/fall by the wayside; that was a good example/instance of Murphy’s law; the whole plan fell flat

es war filmreif/wie eine Komödie/wie im schlechten Film = what I just witnessed was like a comedy of errors; this freak scene felt like a real-life horror movie in the moment; this event played out like a comedy 

es ist daneben gegangen = we came up short; we came out on the short end of the deal; they just got it wrong; our excuse won’t wash with the police; the first day of celebration opened with a whimper, not a bang

es herrscht ein buntes/wildes Durcheinander  = the whole affair was marred by confusion

bei der Bergung geht es chaotisch zu = the rescue effort/ops/operation has been thrown into disarray/doubt/turmoil

das war ein Super-GAU für sein Image/seine Karriere = his reputation went into meltdown/his image crumbled after news of the affair came out; he had a mental meltdown when he lost his job

gut begonnen aber schlecht ausgegangen = the campaign/celebrations started with a bang but ended with a whimper; at some stage things started to get south on us

das ist in die Hose gegangen = this is a recipe for/you are tempting disaster; our daring plan just hit the fan/hit the wall/went awry; the scheme is doomed to fail; this is not going to/gonna work; there are still a lot of concerns plaguing/dogging the project/program; soon things started to get/turn ugly/bad/sour; the bottom fell out of his promising investment plans

das ist/war nur Flickschusterei/ein Flickenteppich/Pfusch = the financial deal was just a shambles/a clunky job/a mixed bag/a cobbled-at-the-last-minute job; that was another hit-and-miss effort/a jumped-up scheme;  this is a mish-mash of different practices and policies; this looks like a slapped-together/thrown-together package/bungled system; this is just a bucket of disjointed bits and pieces for patching things up; there were decades of band-aid solutions; they just keep fiddling at the edges, you know, change a bit here, change a bit there …

wie bei Hempels unterm Sofa =  this looks like a dog’s breakfast 

manchmal muss man in den sauren Apfel beißen/über seinen (eigenen) Schatten springen = if we go into early retirement we will have to bite the bullet and earn less money; ; if the cops catch you driving without a license you’ll have to face the music; sometimes we have to beard the lion

leider müssen wir die Kröte schlucken = I guess we have to grasp the nettle on this affair 

Das kann nicht gutgehen, oder doch? = This can’t work or can it?; stranger things have happened; when you do things on the cheap  I couldn’t help but wonder that/if they go wrong   

die Suppe auslöffeln, die man sich eingebrockt hat = your gambit/trick/move backfired and now the joke is on you; the protesting students were hoisted with/by their own petard when they couldn’ go home because public transport was on strike; well, you were the one who heavily insulted the president so now you will have to come forward and face the music/the consequences/the blowback

sein eigenes Süppchen kochen = he’s one of those politicians who pushes his own agenda; she’s the kind of person who keeps to herself; I know a girl who likes living on her own; he is no team player; that guy is a loner/maverick who does things on his own/ independently  

das Kind ist bereits in den Brunnen gefallen = the horse has (already) bolted; no use shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted; the horse is out of the barn/ stable; no use crying over spilled milk

für dich/sie ist der Zug bereits abgefahren = (hey, Johnny-come-lately) you have missed the boat/train/bus on this opportunity/issue; as usual my boy, you were a little slow/late to come to the party; the ship may have sailed on my sister’s hopes/expectations of getting married soon

das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten =  he made a boo boo by throwing the baby out with the bathwater

das ist ein Armutszeugnis/Trauerspiel = this is a real embarrassment/pain; that was an absolute poor/dismal performance; no way I’m going to go to another classic music concert after this pathetic/abominable performance/showing; what you did was absolutely not up to snuff/scratch; this is a travesty of a law; that was a no-show; his/her attitude grosses me out/bums me out; as a wanna-be football pundit/  expert my uncle is a total bust/flop; it/this sucks; this is a turkey/dud

er/sie hat versagt = he/she fumbled it; he/she didn't get the job done/didn't cut it; as a singer he failed/flopped/tanked miserably; instead of wooing the spectators with his latest stunt this time around the comedian fell (flat) on his face; the flame of failure keeps burning; what he did wasn’t up to scratch/snuff; he/she failed to act on this important issue 

dieser Typ ist ein total Versager = this guy is a total bust/flop; call him Mr. Dud as he is incapable of doing anything; that fellow/bloke (AUS) is the very picture of failure; as a football coach/player you’re washed up; I can’t stand those wimps who think they’re doing a great job 

das ist/war ein Rohrkrepierer/ein Schuss in den Ofen/eine Luftnummer  = that/it was just a blip/a false dawn; the much-heralded good news was nothing more than a damp squib/a fizzer/a dud; his financial scheme went over like a lead baloon; your scheme for making a lot of money just proved fool’s gold; his course of action seems/turned out to be a slippery slope   

das Wetter kommt uns in die Quere = we wanted to stage a barbecue party but poor weather upset the applecart/kiboshed our plans

mein Vorgesetzter hat meine Pläne durchkreuzt = my supervisor threw a monkey wrench/a spanner into my plans to go to the party tonight when he demanded I work extra hours; my boss waylaid my plans

jemandem den Schneid abkaufen = every weekend my parents try to cramp my style by controlling my whereabouts at night; the government threw/poured cold water on the opposition party’s proposal