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September 1999

The Eyes Have It

German idioms reveal a keen appreciation of everyone's favorite sensory organs...the eyes.

Many people take the all-important sense of sight for granted. For some, however, seeing means believing in the wonders of eyeglasses, contact lenses, cleaning and storing solutions, eye drops and reading aids. I, for one, am nearsighted (kurzsichtig). Any farsighted (weitsichtig) people out there? Living in Munich, it is difficult not to notice the German fascination with glasses: they’re stylishly hip, chic, eye-catching and people actually wear them in public, unlike the hideously ugly soda-bottle version I keep hidden away, destined to be worn only in absolute, life-threatening emergencies — which means never. Out of sight, out of mind, is my motto — or, in German, aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn. Extreme nearsightedness, though, is not what is meant when someone says “kann nicht weiter sehen als bis zur Nasenspitze” (can’t see beyond the tip of their nose). This is a reference to someone who is narrow-minded, not as blind as a bat. Likewise, the remark vier Augen sehen mehr als zwei (four eyes see more than two) is not a derogatory comment about the glasses sitting on your nose, but an observation that less will be overlooked if two people rather than one check something. Don’t confuse this with a request that something be kept unter vier Augen (under four eyes), which means keeping it private, or “just between the two of us.” As in English, optimists are referred to as people who view the world through rose-colored glasses — etwas durch eine rosa Brille sehen — while those with a more pessimistic outlook on life see everything through black spectacles — alles durch die schwarze Brille sehen. Although the saying kleine Augen haben (to have small eyes) might be thought to refer to squinting, it actually describes someone who is tired, while kein Auge zutun (not to shut an eye) is used in connection with a person who is unable to sleep. The instruction Augen und Ohren aufhalten! (keep your eyes and ears open), on the other hand, requires you to pay close attention to what is being said. In English, haste makes waste, but in German it’s blinder Eifer schadet nur (blind overeagerness brings only harm). To describe someone who has eyes like a hawk, however, use the expression Augen wie ein Luchs (eyes like a lynx) in German. As in English, people who can’t see the big picture cannot see the forest for the trees, or können den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. Man kann einem Menschen nicht ins Herz sehen (you cannot see into a person’s heart) means you can’t know what another person is thinking or feeling. The two languages see eye to eye when it comes to having more food on your plate than you can possibly eat: die Augen sind größer als der Magen — your eyes are bigger than your stomach. Drinking too much beer, on the other hand, can cause you alles doppelt sehen (to see everything double). An Oktoberfest waitress will no doubt use the phrase etwas nicht mehr sehen können, meaning that someone has grown weary of something. Someone having dumb luck is referred to as ein blindes Huhn findet auch einmal ein Korn (a blind chicken can also find a grain). If something is totally clear, das sieht doch ein Blinder (mit dem Krückstock) is the phrase to use — even a blind man with a cane can see that! Which brings me back to the subject of those fashionable German glasses. Perhaps I should see about getting a pair for myself — after all, I can now see the handwriting on the wall. <<<

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