GermanDa wird der Hund in der Pfanne verrückt
Meaning: An exclamation of utter disbelief.
Literally: There the dog goes crazy in the frying pan
Example: “Er hat den Marathon gewonnen? Da wird der Hund in der Pfanne verrückt!” — He won the marathon? Well, blow me down!
English equivalent: Blow me down
Origin: Usually traced to the 47th story of the Till Eulenspiegel chapbook (published from 1515). Working for a brewer in Einbeck, Eulenspiegel is told to boil hops (Hopfen) while his master is away; the brewer's dog happens to be called Hopf, so Eulenspiegel throws the dog into the brewing pan. The exclamation keeps the absurdity of that scene: something so outrageous that even a dog in the pan would go mad. How exactly the story became the modern catchphrase is not documented.
Equivalents in other languages
English: blow me down
More German idioms
- Die Kuh vom Eis holen To resolve a precarious situation.
- Sein blaues Wunder erleben To get an unpleasant surprise.
- Da haben wir den Salat Now we've got a fine mess.
- Den Löffel abgeben To die.
- Ins Fettnäpfchen treten To commit an embarrassing social blunder.
- Eulen nach Athen tragen To do something utterly pointless.
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