----- Original Message -----
From: "Christian Thalmann" <cinga@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: OT: Composing (jara: My girlfriend is a conlanger!)
> --- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Jake X <starvingpoet@R...> wrote:
>
> > I
> > merely
> > > wanted to express my astonishment by the fact that similar
expressions
> > exist in
> > > litterally the same form in several languages. One thing that has
never
> > ceased
> > > to amaze me is that Polish and Dutch have so many expressions in
common
> > that
> > > don't exist in German. I have never really understood how such a
> situation
> > > could have emerged.
> > So, then, is there no expression "to turn over in ones grave" in
German,
> > that would follow your pattern?
>
> "X würde sich im Grabe umdrehen" or "X dreht sich bestimmt im
> Grabe um" is pretty common and idiomatic, maybe with slight
> variations in wording. I also seem to recall hearing a version
> with "rotieren" rather than "sich umdrehen", though that might
> be a Swissism.
>
In english, 'x would be spinning in his grave' is a more lighthearted
version. equivalent to the german version with 'rotieren', I suppose.