Let’s have some fun with this weird German language!
In this series of posts, I’ll show you how to make your German speaking colleagues laugh, with ONE simple sentence.
Lügen haben kurze Beine
(Lies have short legs)
You all know the story of the Tortoise and The Hare, right! (von der Schildkröte und dem Hasen, oder)?
In that story the Tortoise wins the race against the Hare (gegen den Hasen).
Not because he’s actually faster but because he keeps moving slow and steady while the hare is so confident of himself that he rests in the middle of the race (mitten im Rennen).
But let’s be honest (lass uns ehrlich sein).
It shouldn’t be that difficult to pass a tortoise (die Schildkröte zu überholen).
I mean he has short legs and is carrying a heavy weight (und trägt ein schweres Gewicht).
And that’s exactly what we mean with this expression.
So when we say in German:
- Lügen haben kurze Beine. (Lies have short legs.)
We actually mean:
- Truth will out
- A lie never lives to be old
- Lies don’t travel far
- A lie has no feet
Got it?
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Karl-Otto is about to give a presentation the next day (am nächsten Tag).
He comes to you and confesses that he hasn’t prepared anything and that he will not be able to give the presentation (die Präsentation zu halten).
So he’s trying to figure out an excuse to avoid the presentation (um die Präsentation zu vermeiden).
He comes up with an idea:
He wants to tell his boss that he’s really sick, that he has a headache and that he has to postpone the presentation (die Präsentation verschieben).
That the headache is really severe, because while sitting in front of the computer a big stone from the ceiling felt down on his head (auf seinen Kopf gefallen).
And it was not his fault.
Look at him and tell him what is going through your mind:
- Sag das nicht! Lügen haben kurze Beine! (Don’t tell this! Truth will out!)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how he reacted :-)