Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Kein Wort zu viel
English translation:
Save your breath
Added to glossary by
Hilary Davies Shelby
May 15, 2007 19:49
17 yrs ago
German term
Kein Wort zu viel
German to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Hello all!
I'm looking for some help with this phrase, as I haven't come across it so far. For reasons of confidentiality, i'm afraid I can't really provide much more context, but basically it's fiction, in which one person asks if they can speak to the other for a moment, and the other says "Kein Wort zu viel". Is this a quote from somewhere, or is it an idiom with a standard English equivalent?
Thanks a lot for any assistance!
I'm looking for some help with this phrase, as I haven't come across it so far. For reasons of confidentiality, i'm afraid I can't really provide much more context, but basically it's fiction, in which one person asks if they can speak to the other for a moment, and the other says "Kein Wort zu viel". Is this a quote from somewhere, or is it an idiom with a standard English equivalent?
Thanks a lot for any assistance!
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+2
19 hrs
Selected
Save your words
...in light of the client's input
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Note added at 19 hrs (2007-05-16 15:38:36 GMT)
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or "save your breath" if it fits the tone
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Note added at 19 hrs (2007-05-16 15:38:36 GMT)
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or "save your breath" if it fits the tone
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Francis Lee (X)
: in light of the client's input: the above options or "Yes, I hear you (already)."
58 mins
|
Thanks, Francis
|
|
agree |
Paul Cohen
: Yes, some good suggestions, Lori - though perhaps a bit on the hostile side. "Save your breath!" It's hard to say without more context.
1 day 3 mins
|
Thanks, Paul. Yes, context is crucial here. Really hard to say what fits without more input from Hilary.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think "Save your breath" is absolutely perfect. The client has since given me a further explanation - Person B feels that he knows what Person A is going to say, so is not interested in listening. Thank you all so much for your many interpretations and helpful comments!"
+9
5 mins
sure, but be brief
I don't think it is a quote. It is simply telling the other person that, yes, I will listen but not for very long.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
: yes, or : keep it short!
3 mins
|
danke, Ingeborg
|
|
agree |
Paul Cohen
: make it brief
6 mins
|
thanks, Paul
|
|
agree |
Jim Tucker (X)
: or "make it quick" in spoken E.
8 mins
|
thanks, Jim
|
|
agree |
Lori Dendy-Molz
: with all of the above
11 mins
|
thank you, Lori
|
|
agree |
Julia Lipeles
: with Jim
32 mins
|
thanks, Julia
|
|
agree |
Mihaela Boteva
: With Paul.
36 mins
|
thanks a lot
|
|
agree |
Craig Meulen
: also with all of the above
1 hr
|
thank you, Craig
|
|
agree |
Textklick
: With Paul
2 hrs
|
thanks a lot
|
|
agree |
Chinmayi Sripada
8 hrs
|
6 mins
don't overdo it
just for starters, very tough with no more context at all
+2
51 mins
comment - n.f.g.
I don't know of any source where this might be quoted from.
Usually it is rather sort of a comment when you marvel (or criticise) someone for being extremely precise and brief. In your context, the meaning is probably that implied by previous suggestions for translation.
Usually it is rather sort of a comment when you marvel (or criticise) someone for being extremely precise and brief. In your context, the meaning is probably that implied by previous suggestions for translation.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Lancashireman
: Yes, in view of the lack of context it would rash to rule out other possibilities, e.g. “Anything you say has to be worth listening to” or “I’m all ears”.
1 hr
|
agree |
Johanna Timm, PhD
: Agree completely. The regular German equivalent to" keep it brief, please" would be " fassen Sie bitte sich kurz". "kein Wort zuviel" is used when someone HAS already said something & managed to keep it brief. It's a *comment*, rather than a plea/request
5 hrs
|
9 hrs
keep it short
-
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Note added at 13 hrs (2007-05-16 09:00:01 GMT)
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I just noticed that Ingeborg suggested this.
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Note added at 13 hrs (2007-05-16 09:00:01 GMT)
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I just noticed that Ingeborg suggested this.
29 mins
Get to the point
I don't know any more about the context than what is given, but if the character is pressed for time, or has a short temper, this would be a good option. Basically character B tells character A not to beat around the bush, or leave all formalities aside.
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Note added at 1 day13 mins (2007-05-16 20:03:01 GMT)
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According to the latest note: Could this possibly mean: Don't say anything (I already know what you are going to say)?
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Note added at 1 day13 mins (2007-05-16 20:03:01 GMT)
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According to the latest note: Could this possibly mean: Don't say anything (I already know what you are going to say)?
+1
1 day 19 hrs
You don't have to say a word
Now that we've had some feedback from the client and seen what our German colleagues have to say (Bernhard has remained oddly silent – and Johanna has pointed out that "keep it brief" would normally be "fassen Sie sich kurz" and not "kein Wort zu viel"), it appears that the phrase is indeed a comment concerning something that happened earlier.
Perhaps the topic is sensitive and person 'B' does not want others to overhear it. Who knows? We don't have much context.
What we do know is that there are "issues" between the two speakers and that the topic in question has already been dealt with to some extent or, at the very least, it should not be dealt with again at that particular time and place! There is also obvious impatience on the part of person 'B'. "Keep it brief" would express that lack of patience – but, unfortunately, that wouldn't imply that something happened earlier – and, if you just wrote "make it brief" something would definitely be lost in translation. So I would suggest the following:
"You don't have to say a word." (why not stick to the suggestion given by the client?)
"We've been over this before"
"Let's not go into this (again) (now)."
"I thought we agreed not to talk about this."
"Let's not go into details about it."
"There's no point in going over this (again) (right now/right here)."
"There's a time and a place for everything."
OR… if it's an obviously sensitive topic that others should not overhear – you could go out on a limb and use one of the following – but you might want to check it with the client again, if it's not clear from the context. Could it be that it's a hush-hush situation: "Kein Wort zu viel – der Feind hört mit" ??
"I thought we agreed to keep this under wraps"
"Mum's the word, remember?"
"Don't let the cat out of the bag."
Perhaps the topic is sensitive and person 'B' does not want others to overhear it. Who knows? We don't have much context.
What we do know is that there are "issues" between the two speakers and that the topic in question has already been dealt with to some extent or, at the very least, it should not be dealt with again at that particular time and place! There is also obvious impatience on the part of person 'B'. "Keep it brief" would express that lack of patience – but, unfortunately, that wouldn't imply that something happened earlier – and, if you just wrote "make it brief" something would definitely be lost in translation. So I would suggest the following:
"You don't have to say a word." (why not stick to the suggestion given by the client?)
"We've been over this before"
"Let's not go into this (again) (now)."
"I thought we agreed not to talk about this."
"Let's not go into details about it."
"There's no point in going over this (again) (right now/right here)."
"There's a time and a place for everything."
OR… if it's an obviously sensitive topic that others should not overhear – you could go out on a limb and use one of the following – but you might want to check it with the client again, if it's not clear from the context. Could it be that it's a hush-hush situation: "Kein Wort zu viel – der Feind hört mit" ??
"I thought we agreed to keep this under wraps"
"Mum's the word, remember?"
"Don't let the cat out of the bag."
Note from asker:
Hello again! Thanks very much for all your helpful suggestions. Although I am unable to provide details of the conversation, I can assure you that there is absolutely no suggestion of keeping something under wraps or secret in this context. It's definitely an "I don't want to hear it" kind of comment in this case. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Bernhard Sulzer
: plenty of these could apply, they're all going in the direction of "let's rather not talk about it"
10 hrs
|
Thanks, Bernhard. This "Kein Wort zu viel" question has been puzzling me for a while.
|
+1
2 days 5 hrs
hush hush / don't say too much
sorry about the late answer but I wasn't sure until the last info posted by Hilary:
in light of all the info, "don't say too much" or "hush hush" would be what I would equate with "Kein Wort zuviel" rather than "save your breath" because IMO it's not exactly the same.
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:19:01 GMT) Post-grading
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this in light of the person B not wanting to speak to person A.
If they are friends, than "keep it under wraps" would be another option in my opinion, and that would be the same as Paul's "you don't have to say a word"
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:29:53 GMT) Post-grading
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or: let's rather not talk about it (although that's already pretty free).
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:31:24 GMT) Post-grading
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or. more direct, as friends: "let's not say too much" - meaning: let's not say anything about it right now.
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:33:58 GMT) Post-grading
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the "hush hush" was also suggested by Paul, but since this is post-grading, I don't think you will mind, Paul.
in light of all the info, "don't say too much" or "hush hush" would be what I would equate with "Kein Wort zuviel" rather than "save your breath" because IMO it's not exactly the same.
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:19:01 GMT) Post-grading
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this in light of the person B not wanting to speak to person A.
If they are friends, than "keep it under wraps" would be another option in my opinion, and that would be the same as Paul's "you don't have to say a word"
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:29:53 GMT) Post-grading
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or: let's rather not talk about it (although that's already pretty free).
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:31:24 GMT) Post-grading
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or. more direct, as friends: "let's not say too much" - meaning: let's not say anything about it right now.
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Note added at 2 days5 hrs (2007-05-18 01:33:58 GMT) Post-grading
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the "hush hush" was also suggested by Paul, but since this is post-grading, I don't think you will mind, Paul.
Note from asker:
Hello again! Thanks very much for all your helpful suggestions. Although I am unable to provide details of the conversation, I can assure you that there is absolutely no suggestion of keeping something under wraps or secret in this context. It's definitely an "I don't want to hear it" kind of comment in this case. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Paul Cohen
: I heartily agree, Bernhard! There's a good possibility that this exchange is a case of "hush hush," as you/I put it. Shhh... don't say a word, keep it under wraps, this is neither the time nor the place... etc.
30 mins
|
Discussion