Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
wenn man den Dreh mal raus hat
English translation:
once you get the hang of it
Added to glossary by
Susan Welsh
Sep 2, 2010 16:55
13 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term
United States
Psychology, economics, politics
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English, German to English, English
Wenn man den Dreh mal raus hat gibt man den Spiess nicht mehr her.
German to English
Marketing
Cooking / Culinary
camp stoves
Sorry for giving the entire sentence--but it's the entire sentence that I don't understand. This is an instruction manual for a lightweight camp stove, which has a skewer for cooking food over a tiny fire. We have already been instructed not to use the thing without sticking the skewer through the food, lest if fall off into the fire. (Some people evidently try to put the food on top of the skewer.)
I think that "wenn man den Dreh mal raus hat" means "once you get used to it," or something to that effect. But then comes "gibt man den Spiess nicht mehr her." I'm guessing that means "you'll never do without the skewer." But it doesn't really make much sense to me.
Any ideas?
I think that "wenn man den Dreh mal raus hat" means "once you get used to it," or something to that effect. But then comes "gibt man den Spiess nicht mehr her." I'm guessing that means "you'll never do without the skewer." But it doesn't really make much sense to me.
Any ideas?
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
1 day 21 hrs
Selected
Play on words with "Drehspiess"
See discussion box above. And thanks very much for your message, Susan.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to all who made good suggestions, along the lines of what I already had as an approximation. This answer was the most helpful, because it showed me what was really going on in the sentence. I'm putting (only) the first, idiomatic phrase into the glossary, because it may be useful for future users."
+4
12 mins
Once you get the hang of it you'll never want to stop using it
"Wenn man den Dreh mal raus hat" means to understand how it works (usually something tricky).
The rest of the sentence is obvious but doesn't translate well into sales jargon.
The rest of the sentence is obvious but doesn't translate well into sales jargon.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Inge Meinzer
2 mins
|
| agree |
philgoddard
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Armorel Young
: Nice - for me that strikes just the right tone
3 hrs
|
| agree |
mary austria
: Very nice
20 hrs
|
+1
2 mins
Once you got it you will love using the skewer.
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Note added at 12 mins (2010-09-02 17:07:41 GMT)
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Lol! Well, good luck using that most awesome skewer ;)
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Note added at 12 mins (2010-09-02 17:07:41 GMT)
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Lol! Well, good luck using that most awesome skewer ;)
Note from asker:
| I guess something like this is right, but it seems so silly. Who is going to get so excited about a bloody skewer? (All I want is my dinner...) This is not a marketing brochure, but supposedly a user's manual. But, if that's what it means, that's what it means! |
+1
8 hrs
Jenny Streitparth
New Zealand
New Zealand
Native in German
&
English
New Zealand
100% every time!
Native in: German 
, English
Works in: English to German, German to English, Spanish to German
Once you've worked it out - you won't (want to) go without
rhyming rhyming rhyming
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Gertraud K.
22 mins
|
|
I always have little hope that someone may stop by this far down the track... So: thanks heaps!!
|
Discussion
Thanks