an die Kandare nehmen

Meaning: To restrain, control, or impose discipline on someone.

Language: German

Literally: to take someone to the curb-chain

Category: Animals

Origin: A Kandare is a severe type of horse bit; the phrase pictures reining in a person as one would control a headstrong horse.

More idioms — Animals

einen Vogel zeigen — To gesture dismissively or insultingly, usually by mimicking a cuckoo or making a mocking…
jemanden zur Schnecke machen — To scold or rebuke someone harshly; to give someone a severe dressing-down.
auf den Leim gehen — To be deceived or tricked; to fall for a trap or deception.
menare il can per l'aia — To avoid the main point by talking around the subject indirectly.
calcio dell'asino — A cowardly or treacherous attack from an unexpected quarter.
qui casca l'asino — That is the crux of the matter; that is where the real difficulty lies.

auf dem Teppich bleiben — To stay grounded and realistic; to avoid getting swept up in fantasies or exaggeration.
seinen Hut nehmen — To resign or quit from a position.
die Faxen dicke haben — To be fed up; to have had enough of someone's nonsense or misbehavior.
aus der Portokasse zahlen — To pay a large sum without difficulty because one has abundant resources.
jemandem in Fleisch und Blut übergehen — To become second nature or instinctive; to be absorbed so deeply that it feels like part…
eine Schraube locker haben — To be slightly eccentric or mentally unbalanced.

Du bist klasse — You're brilliant — excellent, impressive, top-notch.
Faulpelz — A lazybones — someone who lounges around and avoids any effort, as warm and inert as a fu…
Griesgram — A perpetual grump who radiates dissatisfaction and sucks the joy out of every room.