| |
You are here: Experts > Cultures > Germany for Visitors > German Language > Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch auslöffeln.
German Language - Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch auslöffeln.
Expert: Cornelia Neumann - 10/26/2009
Question
Dear Cornelia,
Re
Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch auslöffeln.
I understand that it means “You've made your bed, now you must lie in it.”
However, what is the exact nature of the figure of speech used here?
Is it the idea of someone who has crumbled a loaf of bread into his dish having to spoon it out again?
All the best, and many thanks,
Simon
PS Such questions may seem strange, but I have a very analytical mind and if I really get to the literal force of the proverb it helps me greatly to remember it and to use it.
Answer
Hi Simon,
I've always taken it to refer to the old custom of crumbling bread into the soup, mostly because soup used to be an end-of-the-week dish, with lots of leftovers, and the bread would have been stale and hard at that point. Of course once the bread is in there you can't remove it and must eat the whole mess.
Hope this helps,
Cornelia
Add to this Answer Ask a Question
|
|
