Tell me more ×
German Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of German wanting to discuss the finer points of the language and translation. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 15 down vote favorite

Is there a German equivalent for "shoot the messenger" (kill the bearer, but not the originator, of bad news)?

share|improve this question
I only found this link forum-3dcenter.org/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-255505.html – bernd_k Jun 11 '11 at 14:48

3 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

Not literally equivalent, but this phrase is commonly used in German:

nicht den Überbringer der schlechten Nachrichten (oder Botschaften) bestrafen.

which means: Don't punish the bearers of bad news.

Related: the German for the person who's always blamed even if he or she is innocent: Prügelknabe or Sündenbock (scapegoat).

share|improve this answer
2  
... or Sündenbock. – Pekka 웃 Jun 11 '11 at 15:32
@Pekka danke! ♣ ← 15 characters minimum filling symbol – splattne♦ Jun 11 '11 at 15:51
2  
"Not literally equivalent." But quite good enough. – Tom Au Jun 11 '11 at 15:55
2  
Der bestrafte Bote ist aber nur ein Spezialfall des Sündenbocks - daher ist Sündenbock unpassend. – user unknown Jun 12 '11 at 20:23
up vote 1 down vote

Auch wenn die richtige Antwort schon vorliegt: "den Boten bestrafen" (to punish the messenger) ist vielleicht noch etwas kompakter, und Alliterationen sind doch immer was schönes :-)

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

I think "no" is not a sufficient answer, is it? I don't think there is one, at least not a commonly used one. The dictionaries in which I've found it seem to only explain the meaning.

Wikipedia: Shooting the Messenger says that its origin is from a play by Shakespeare. So it could be a proverb without german equivalent.

share|improve this answer
1  
The "principle" of killing the messenger is ancient though: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/… – splattne♦ Jun 11 '11 at 14:59

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.