In September 2011, the CDU member of parliament Wolfgang Bosbach said he would vote against the expansion of the euro rescue fund. Days before the vote, the head of the Chancellery, Ronald Pofalla, told him: Ich kann deine Fresse nicht mehr sehen. I can’t stand the sight of your face any more. The remark became public, and Pofalla apologized. The Tagesspiegel called it a Verbalentgleisung, a verbal derailment.
Words Built on the Matter
Kommen Sie bitte zur Sache! — Please come to the point, literally to the matter.
Das tut nichts zur Sache. — That is beside the point. Duden’s example: von wem ich es weiß, tut nichts zur Sache, who told me is beside the point.
bei der Sache sein — to be fully concentrated on the task.
Sachdienliche Hinweise nimmt jede Polizeidienststelle entgegen. — Any police station will accept information relevant to the case. Duden gives it as its example for sachdienlich.
der Sachbearbeiter — the official who handles a case.
die Sachpolitik — policy on the substance.
Zur Sache, Schätzchen — To the point, darling. The title of May Spils’s film of 1968.
The Critic Who Left
From 1988 to 2001, ZDF’s Das Literarische Quartett showed critics arguing about new books, dominated by Marcel Reich-Ranicki and known for his devastating verdicts. In June 2000 the critics discussed Haruki Murakami’s novel Gefährliche Geliebte. Reich-Ranicki accused the critic Sigrid Löffler of always complaining about novels about love, and said she regarded love as something anstößig Unanständiges, offensively indecent. On air, Löffler rejected this as a persönliche Unterstellung, a personal insinuation. After the episode she announced that she would leave the program.
Sides Drawn by Lot
Jugend debattiert, Youth Debates, is a school debating competition, an initiative of the federal president and under his patronage. It grew out of a Hamburg school debate first held in 1999. In each debate two speakers argue for a proposition and two against it. Die Positionen, Pro und Contra, werden den Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmern kurz zuvor zugelost. The positions, for and against, are assigned to the participants by lot shortly before. The jury scores four things: Sachkenntnis, Ausdrucksvermögen, Gesprächsfähigkeit und Überzeugungskraft, knowledge of the matter, power of expression, ability to engage in discussion, and persuasiveness. In the closing round a debater may change position, but only on the basis of the debate just held.
Words for Leaving the Matter
unsachlich werden — to stop being factual.
persönlich werden — to get personal.
Das ist nicht persönlich gemeint. — That is not meant personally.
das Totschlagargument — literally a manslaughter argument. Duden defines it as a pseudo-argument made on purpose, hard to contest because it is empty or general, and meant to end the discussion of the substance.
die Schlammschlacht — a mud battle. Duden: a dispute, especially in politics, conducted without objectivity and with disparaging remarks.
ein Schlag unter die Gürtellinie — a blow below the belt. Duden: unfair, impermissible behavior.
Der Ton macht die Musik. — The tone makes the music. Germans use the proverb when bluntness has become rude.
One Team Across the Aisle
FC Bundestag is the football club of the members of the Bundestag. It was founded in the 1960s, and members of all political camps play in it. In 2018 the CDU member Johannes Steiniger wrote that members of otherwise competing parties form one team across party lines. In March 2024, the club’s members’ meeting declared membership of the AfD incompatible with membership of the club. In March 2025, the Berlin regional court declared that resolution void on formal grounds. The club’s statutes allow any member of the Bundestag to join, and a resolution of the members’ meeting is not enough to change that.
Advice for a Bad Speaker
In 1930 Kurt Tucholsky, writing as Peter Panter, published Ratschläge für einen schlechten Redner, advice for a bad speaker, in the Vossische Zeitung. It begins: Fang nie mit dem Anfang an -, sondern drei Meilen vor dem Anfang! Never start at the beginning, but three miles before it. It advises the bad speaker to read his speech from the page. Sprich nie unter anderthalb Stunden, sonst lohnt es gar nicht erst anzufangen. Never speak for less than an hour and a half, or it is not worth starting at all. A short final part gives advice for a good speaker: Hauptsätze, Hauptsätze, Hauptsätze. Main clauses, main clauses, main clauses. Klare Disposition im Kopf – möglichst wenig auf dem Papier. A clear outline in your head, as little as possible on paper.
If You Have No Idea
Wenn man keine Ahnung hat, einfach mal die Fresse halten. If you have no idea, just shut your trap. The sentence is crude, and it is often quoted. It is attributed to the comedian Dieter Nuhr. He tried to register it as a trademark, but this failed at the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart in January 2023. A similar line had already been spoken in 1974, in the WDR sitcom Ein Herz und eine Seele: Wenn man keine Ahnung hat, dann hält man bescheiden die Schnauze. If you have no idea, you modestly keep your mouth shut.
Words for Unwelcome Correction
der Besserwisser — someone who always believes he knows better
der Klugscheißer — vulgar: someone who thinks himself very clever and believes his remarks are very clever
oberlehrerhaft — know-it-all and lecturing, like an old-style senior schoolmaster
The dictionary DWDS marks all three as disparaging. A correction that serves the work is welcome. These words are for a correction that mainly serves the person who makes it.
The Vocabulary of Respectful Objection
Mit Verlaub — by your leave, if you permit
Bei allem Respekt — with all due respect
Das sehe ich anders. — I see that differently.
Da muss ich widersprechen. — I have to contradict you there.
der Einwand — the objection
Widerworte geben — to answer back
Keine Widerworte! — No answering back! This is what the person in charge says to end it.