ein Liedchen singen können

Meaning: To have direct, personal knowledge of something through lived experience.

Language: German

Literally: to be able to sing a little song

Category: Daily Life

Origin: The phrase pictures someone who knows a subject so well they could perform it like a song—by heart and with ease.

More idioms — Daily Life

sein Damaskus erleben — To undergo a sudden, transformative spiritual or moral awakening.
auf den Schlips treten — To offend or insult someone, to hurt their feelings or pride.
Hinz und Kunz — Any ordinary person; everyone; the man in the street; used to refer to people indiscrimin…
keine halben Sachen machen — To commit fully to something; to be thorough and complete rather than halfhearted or comp…
die Zelte abbrechen — to move away or leave a place; to abandon one's position.
erstunken und erlogen — entirely false or made up; a complete lie or fabrication.

in den Wind sprechen — To speak in vain or to an audience that will not listen or act on one's words.
um die Ecke denken — To think creatively or unconventionally, to solve problems by approaching them from unexp…
auf keinen grünen Zweig kommen — To fail to achieve success or prosperity, to make no progress in life or a project.
grün vor Neid — Consumed with jealousy or envious feeling.
was das Zeug hält — with maximum intensity or speed; to the absolute limit of one's capacity.
bei der Stange halten — to keep someone obedient, loyal, or in line through discipline or pressure.

Sturmfrei — The liberating feeling of having the house entirely to yourself — when parents or a partn…
Waldeinsamkeit — The serene, faintly mystical feeling of being alone in the woods, at peace with nature.
Backpfeifengesicht — A face that is just begging to be slapped — someone so smug you can't help the urge.