IdiomAnimals
German
GermanEinen Kater haben
Meaning: To have a hangover.
Literally: To have a tomcat
Example: “Nach der Hochzeit hatte er einen fürchterlichen Kater.” — After the wedding he had a terrible morning after the night before.
English equivalent: The morning after the night before
Origin: Kater means tomcat, but here it is usually taken as a popular pronunciation of the medical term Katarrh, a vague illness of cough, sniffles and headache. In 19th-century student slang the misery after a night of drinking was called Katzenjammer (cats' wailing), after the howling of tomcats, and the two words may have run together. Either way, a hangover has been a Kater since the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Avoir la gueule de bois Literally: To have a wooden snout
English: the morning after the night before
More German idioms
- 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.
- vor den Kopf stoßen To offend or affront someone.
- sich die Hörner abstoßen To shed youthful recklessness and settle into maturity.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring