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.


-- Christian Thalmann

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