What is the meaning of german expression "ein Bein zuviel haben"? As in "Vielleicht hat Herr Sommer einfach ein Bein zuviel und muß deshalb immer laufen" (c) Süskind, or "Der König, der ein Bein zuviel hatte" (children books name)
7
-
4This isn't a common picture, it seems to be invented for this book. There is the word Dreibeiner for man, which was introduced by comedian Gaby Köster twenty years ago, but this isn't suited for a children's book.– JankaCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 19:44
-
Yes, it seems, but on the cover of a children's book (Der König, der ein Bein zuviel hatte) is clearly visible a man with two legs– Eugen PolonskiCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 19:52
-
1@EugenPolonski Depends on the edition. Here is one that shows him with 3 feet :) Other editions are collections of several stories, hence the cover might not depict this particular story– ArsakCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 20:10
-
5I don't understand the votes to close this question: OP has provided valid examples from German literature, and the best dictionary doesn't help if what you're looking for is not listed.– PhilippCommented Nov 22, 2018 at 21:22
-
2@Janka: "Drittes Bein" als Metapher für den Penis habe ich schon Anfang der 80er gehört..– user unknownCommented Nov 23, 2018 at 3:49
|
Show 2 more comments
1 Answer
As Janka commented, this is not a fixed phrase in German.
The children book is a collection of stories from Sergio Tofano (Italian title: I cavoli a merenda). One of the stories seems to be a about a king who literally has three legs - I found a description on Amazon that says
Wer drei Beine hat statt nur zwei, sollte sich nicht grämen, kann er doch, falls notwendig, gleich zwei Leuten in den Allerwertesten treten.
(If you have three legs instead of just two, you shouldn't worry, because if necessary, you can kick two people in the buttocks at the same time.)
In your other example, "Die Geschichte von Herrn Sommer" by Patrick Süskind, a family is talking about a man (Herr Sommer) who refused to get into their car during severe weather. During the discussion why Herr Sommer refused, one compares him with a certain character from the Brother Grimm fairy tale "Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt". This character is a runner who cannot stop running unless he removes one of his legs. This idea was picked up - hence, the speculation arose, whether Herr Sommer (figuratively) had an extra leg, which implies that maybe he just had to walk.
