GermanAus dem Häuschen sein
Meaning: To be beside yourself with excitement.
Literally: To be out of your little house
Example: “Die Kinder waren wegen des Welpen völlig aus dem Häuschen.” — The children were over the moon about the puppy.
English equivalent: To be over the moon
Origin: The house is pictured as the earthly home of the soul, and ecstasy as stepping out of it: someone aus dem Häuschen (out of the little house) is beside themselves with excitement. The phrase is recorded only from the early 19th century, and Redensarten-Index notes it may be borrowed from French, where les Petites Maisons was the name of a Paris asylum. Others link it to the Narrenhäuschen, the cell where the insane were once shut away.
Equivalents in other languages
English: be on cloud nine
Turkish: Etekleri zil çalıyor Literally: Their skirts are ringing bells
French: Être aux anges Literally: To be at the angels- English: be over the moon
More German idioms
- Jemandem auf den Keks gehen To get on someone's nerves.
- Einen Kater haben To have a hangover.
- die Nase voll haben To be fed up or exhausted by something.
- Dampf ablassen To release pent-up emotion or frustration.
- Salz in die Wunde streuen To deliberately make someone's pain or humiliation worse.
- die Suppe versalzen To ruin a plan or situation through careless excess.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Jeder hat sein Kreuz zu tragen Everyone has their own burden of troubles.
- Umsonst ist der Tod, und der kostet das Leben Nothing is truly free; everything has a price.
- Was ich nicht weiß, macht mich nicht heiß What you don't know can't upset you.
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