SCHULD

irgendjemand hat immer Schuld  = the failed marketing drive can be attributed/ascribed/apportioned to poor management execution; accountability/responsibility/blame for the electoral fiasco can be chalked up/put down to the bad press we received during the campaign; the blame for the failure lies/rests with inadequate government policies; the blame for the environmeantal disaster was laid/pinned on the chemical company’s lax waste disposal procedures; the media is trying to lay/place the blame for the data leak at the information ministry’s feet/door  

die Bank/Regierung übernimmt die Verantwortung = the bank’s financial collapse was largely self-inflicted/of its own doing; the government still carries the baggage/the burden of past misdeeds

Vorstandsvorsitzender übernimmt Verantwortung für Fiasko an der Börse und strebt Wiedergutmachung an = CEO assumes blame/ holds himself accountable for the stock market fiasco and embarks on apology tour 

Schuldzuweisung/Verantwortung wird hin und her geschoben = there is a lot of round-robin finger-pointing and blame shifting; they’re starting to point fingers now; they’re still playing/waging the blame game/the finger pointing; we should stop playing the blame game of always trying to pass the buck; we’ve got to stop playing this game of cheap politics

er/sie hat versucht/probiert, mir den schwarzen Peter zuzuschieben/die Schuld anzuhängen = he tried to tag me with the blame for the financial failure; the press threw the coach under the bus (i.e. blamed him for the defeat); he/she always tries to set up somebody to put the blame on/to pint the finger at 

ein Bauernopfer wird gesucht = the socialist party is looking for a scapegoat/fall guy/patsy to pin the blame on for the dismal performance at the polls; someone must pay the piper/take the rap in the wake of this major environmental catastrophe 

er/sie ist der Buhmann = he was set up as a fall guy/a scapegoat

er ist der Prellbock der Regierungspartei = he is the one who almost always takes the blame for other party members’ poor actions/ decisions

Minister versucht, sich vor der Verantwortung zu drücken/sich aus der Verantwortung zu ziehen = the minister cops out; minister shirks his responsibility as the person in charge of the campaign 

er hat mich wie eine heiße Kartoffel fallen lassen = he dropped/dumped/slam-dunked me like a hot potato

das ist eine faule Ausrede = this is a lame cop-out/excuse; his reply doesn't qualify as an excuse

diesmal hatte er keine Ausrede = this time around he had nowhere to hide

sie/er hat sich aus dem Staub gemacht =  she/he turned tail and ran away 

er hat nicht Wort gehalten und hat sich einfach verdrückt =  he just copped out on the promise he made 

er hat die Schuld = he’s the one wearing the blame

Kannst du mir aus der Patsche helfen/den Karren aus dem Dreck ziehen? =  Can you get me off the hook? Can you bail me out of this

mess?   

wir sind noch nicht aus der Nummer raus =  we’re not off the hook yet/not out in the clear yet 

endlich bist du/sind wir/sie aus dem Schneider = finally you’re out of the woods; we’re off the hook/in the clear now; they managed to get off/go scot-free due to lack of evidence 

wir haben nicht geliefert, daher müssen wir uns den Schuh anziehen =  We just didn’t deliver/come up with the goods, period; we just came up short

den/diesen Schuh ziehe ich mir nicht an = No way Jose! No dice!; no way in the world will I resign; I would definitely not subscribe to that; Don’t give me that! Give me a break! Come on, are you kidding?; it’s definitely out of question; I’m not going to put up with that; this is simply not on; I’m not taking the rap for this failure/fiasco/debacle

das ist ein anderes Paar Schuhe = this is a whole different ball game

jemandem das Wasser abgraben = =  the incumbent government party pulled (out) the rug/floor from under all their opponents/critics/ detractors; the carpet was yanked/cut/ripped from under us/them 

sich an die eigene Nase fassen; etwas sich selbst zuschreiben; er/sie hat sich selbst das Wasser abgegraben = it is/was an own goal; with that stupid interview he/she shot himself/herself in the foot/got a taste of his/her own medicine/was hoisted by his/her own petard; we  had too many self-inflicted wounds/errors; the minister stepped on a landmine of his own making; “the buck stops right here with me”/"it's my bad", he said; the company should do some soul-searching on how it deals with environmental issues; financial pundits/experts advise the company to engage in a self-critical effort regarding its sub-par marketing performance; the country’s inability to deal with/ tackle the epidemic crisis can be seen as a self-inflicted political wound; what he needs is someone to tell him a few home truths

du solltest endlich deine Verfehlungen eingestehen = it’s about time you started analyzing/assessing/reflecting on your own faults and shortcomings

sie hat ein schlechtes Gewissen/Schuldgefühle = she feels bad/guilt-ridden about/for not being able to lend moral support to her daughter when she needed it most

sie hat Gewissensbisse = she keeps suffering pangs of guilt whenever we talk about her divorce; I still have a bad conscience about last year’s behavior at the party

er hat ein reines Gewissen = he has a clean conscience

er zeigt überhaupt keine Reue = he is not contrite at all