HOFFNUNG & ERWARTUNG

dran bleiben/nicht aufgeben = never give in; don’t hang your heads; he won’t back off; don’t dismay, keep at it; with his die-hard/never-say-die/no-quit spirit/attitude/mentality he managed to keep the operation afloat; the family was rescued from the blaze thanks to the firemen’s last second heroics; they are scrambling/this is a last ditch/gasp effort to save/stave off the team from defeat; we are glad to have survived the storm after being on our last legs; companies are always scrambling/racing to find solutions for their financial woes; the union members continue to dig in their heels/hunker down/bunker down (AUS) on the wage dispute; he made a supreme effort to get the job done; don’t drop your bundle (AUS) now; solution looms for their predicament; keep chipping away and you’ll bounce back; we’re not going to roll over; hope is looming/first glimmers emerge that he will soon recover from his injury   

man sollte sich einer Sache nicht verschließen =  don’t close your minds/don`t avert your eyes to the refugee dilemma   

nicht gleich aufgeben und den Kopf in den Sand stecken = you shouldn’t give up something and bury your head in the sand; don't adopt a head-in-the-sand attitude 

sie will noch nicht die Segel streichen = she won’t back down on the issue; we shouldn’t back down now; don’t bow (down) to/cave in to/buckle under (the) pressure

durchhalten heißt die Devise = you got to sweat it out/tough it out; stay on track; keep at it; just stick it out; put on a “grin-and-bear-it” face/mood; they keep soldiering on/ hammering on/plugging along in spite of many setbacks/knockbacks; keep up the spirit/the good work

sie/er zeigt/gibt sich kämpferisch = she is in a defiant/contentious/combative/belligerent mood/temper today; he’s here to put up a fight; he’s gung-ho about winning the race; she’s a tough battle-worn lady; we’ve got to keep competing

sie/er bleibt unbeirrbar = despite all the setbacks/adversities he suffered/endured in life he still remains unbowed in his convictions; my grandfather has an unrelenting will and is not easily subdued; setback fails to dampen her/his spirits/mood 

ich lasse mich nicht unterkriegen = I’m not buckling under! I’m not going to let my boss/supervisor/ex-husband grind me down

ich werde nicht aufgeben/mich einschüchtern lassen/ich werde den Schwanz nicht einziehen = I won’t cave; I’m not going to lay down; you just can’t fold 

ich habe viel im Leben durchgemacht = I had to go through a lot in my life

es gibt einen Lichtblick, daher ist die Lage ist noch nicht hoffnungslos = every cloud has a silver lining, so no need to despair (yet); the sky isn’t falling/hasn’t fallen yet   

seine/ihre Hoffnungen, dieses Jahr befördert zu werden, haben sich zerstreut/zerschlagen/in Luft aufgelöst = his/her hopes of getting promoted this year have faded/have fizzled/have melted away/have dimmed/have been snuffed out/have been dashed

er hat einen Dämpfer erlitten =  his hopes of getting a salary raise/rise have fizzled/were snuffed out/put on ice by the boss

das miese Wetter hat unsere Erwartungen getrübt/gedämpft = our expectations to enjoy our day off outdoors were dampened/quashed/ hosed down by poor/lousy weather; the hope for nicer weather this summer is slowly fading away   

kaum noch Hoffnung, dass du es schaffst = forget it, there is not a glimmer of hope that you will ever become a company director; you’d better dash/snuff out/give up hope that you’re going to be promoted; hopes of making it hang/dangle by a thread; no way you will make it, you’re dead in the water; we thought we would make it but our big effort was just a dead cat bounce; her/his confidence/illusions/dreams has/ have been shattered 

es war viel besser als erwartet = this job/trip/concert was beyond his wildest dreams

wir gehen davon aus, dass ... = it is safe and fair to assume/say that the government will not slash taxes; it’s a fair/safe bet/assumption/it's a no-brainer that tomorrow heavy snow will fall; it is believed/understood/thought that he will win the election; it’s a fair guess that the stock market is tipped to rise today; rest assured/it is widely assumed that we will sign the contract tomorrow; it is anticipated/expected that the inflation rate will be lower than last year’s; politicians are basing their forecasts on the assumption/premise that a vaccine will be available by mid-next year; we can take for granted that the football game will take place tomorrow; it goes without saying that I will always look after/care for you 

davon kann man ausgehen = it's a no-brainer

du kannst nicht davon ausgehen (dass er/sie sofort reagiert); verlass dich nicht drauf =  don’t hold your breath (i.e. it’s unlikely that he/she will react soon); you can’t take stuff like that for granted

auf Nummer sicher gehen/nichts anbrennen lassen lautet die Devise = we’re on the safe side if we stay put; let’s take no chances whatsoever; we gotta play it safe  you’ve heard it: never compromise safety; safety compliance is the name of the game; we'll go for the safe option 

das sind ungelegte Eier = don’t cross the bridge till you come to it/before you get there  

die Messe ist noch nicht gelesen =  the jury is still out on the issue; let’s not jump the gun; don’t count the chickens before they are hatched 

Bedenken/Zweifel äußern/hegen = he’s got nagging/niggling fears about getting sick; I still harbor doubts about my sister’s abilities to make it in the corporate world; many people have/voice misgivings about the future; he’s always expressing concerns about/over his financial status; mothers are constantly hit/plagued/dogged by doubts over what’s good/ best for their daughters; clouds of uncertainty are still surrounding the issue; the threat/specter of a revolution is hovering in the sky/room; people are beginning to question the validity of this concept/principle; the argument loses punch when you think of the consequences; I don’t know what to say, but this damning issue throws me into doubt 

Zweifel werden ausgeräumt = gray areas are being cleared up; any/all doubts were put to rest/have evaporated/have been erased 

es gibt zu viele Möchtegerns = there are too many pretenders/wannabes/would-be’s around

Hoffnungen machen/hegen/formulieren = the company still pins/hinges its hopes on a quick financial turnaround this year; my hopes of going to college rest in my father’s hands; you can ignite/raise/conjure hope from the fact that your career has just begun; she still nurtures the hope that the situation will be all right; the company has pinned all its hopes on the politician’s intervention to get the nod for the project  

die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt = every cloud has a silver lining; hope (still) springs/burns eternal (in the human heart); there is light at the end of the tunnel/on the horizon; there will always be a ray of hope/a dawn after a twilight; not all hope is lost 

es besteht immer das Prinzip Hoffnung = in spite of all adversities he still keeps some semblance of hope; hope is still alive/lives; we can see some light at end of tunnel; the prospect of success provides an avenue of hope; (name of person) becomes a beacon of hope; we're starting to see a glimmer of hope  

man kann nur noch hoffen = always hold out hope for better weather/days; we’re starting to see the/some light at the end of the tunnel; we’re trying to find some light in the darkness; people are looking for hope in these times of despair

man muss einen langen Atem haben = we are prepared to play the long game; we need to settle in for the long haul; “this is a long game”, the CEO said; “I’m here/I’m in this for the long run/haul”, he said; we have to look long term with this issue; with persistence and hard work you can take the long view; I wonder who will win the battle of endurance in this protracted dispute; with its very deep pockets the company can play the long game in the takeover clash; it’s going to be a slow burn before we start earning serious money in this business; we know that this process will boil slowly over time 

das war ein Tropfen auf den heißen Stein = that was a drop in the bucket/ocean; it was just skin-deep/the tip of the iceberg; we only scratched/skimmed/grazed the surface of the problem

eine bessere Zukunft steht bevor = rosy times are looming/are beckoning on the horizon; optimists see everything through rose-colored glasses; there are better days ahead  

man kann dem immer etwas Positives abgewinnen = every cloud has a silver lining; there are always a few/many positives/upsides to take away from any given situation

wir müssen nach vorne schauen = we’ve gotta move on

manche Menschen nehmen Hürden mit einem unglaublichen Willen = some people overcome many obstacles with an unswerving belief/a sense of hope