“Oldtimer for sale” – What a terrible thing to say!

Many years ago I had a visit from my cousin, Martin. He had been to Germany before for short visits, but this time he was here for a whole two weeks. I was thrilled to have him here for so long, but towards the end of the week I had to smile. For the past 30 years I had been teaching English to Germans, but here I was ‘reminding’ Martin, my English cousin, not to say ‘Handy’ to refer to his cell phone or mobile. “Martin, really? When you get home, nobody will understand you!”

What had happened? As background information, Martin did not speak German, but during the two weeks with us he had heard so many people using the word ‘Handy’, he had got quite used to using it himself – after all , it was an English word.

If he had gone back to the UK and used it, he would have been faced with a whole lot of questioning faces. The definition of ‘Handy’ according to the Cambridge dictionary is “skillful with the hands or with using tools, esp. in making or repairing things”. We can also say “my car is at the garage so it is ‘handy’ to have a bus stop right outside the door”, i.e. ‘praktisch’ in German.

So, what other words do we have which mean different things in English?

The first time I heard the expression ‘Public Viewing’ with reference to a football match, I was a little shocked. I knew ‘Public Viewing’ from BBC coverage of scenes of deceased Popes and other world leaders, lain out for ‘public viewing’ for everyone to take leave of them. I expected the players to be very much ‘quicklebendig’ not ‘aufgebahrt’. 

And what other expressions cause some irritation and certainly some puzzlement with English speakers who do not speak German?

Well, if you talk about an ‘oldtimer’ you could be talking about my mother-in-law. At the proud age of 96, you might lovingly referred to her as an oldtimer – and there would not be one wheel in site other than perhaps on his/her wheelchair. ‘Oldtimers’ in German are ‘classic motor vehicles’ or ‘vintage cars’. You certainly can’t sell an ‘oldtimer’ in English – or at least, you shouldn’t.

And if the car you are trying to sell belongs to your boss, please don’t tell everyone he is your “Chef”. Unless you are rather rich and possibly have a gardener, too, you will probably not have a “Chef” – he or she is the person who works in a kitchen (probably in a large hotel, high-class restaurant or a Beverly Hills Villa) and creates delicious things for you to eat. Whether he has people working for him or not is not something defined by the word “Chef” – and ‘Chefs’ in Germany do not necessary have to be able to cook.

Do you have a ‘smoking’ in your wardrobe? Then call the fire brigade!

You don’t need the firebrigade but definitely a different word in English. So, if you are thinking of wearing a “smoking” to go to the delicious meal your chef (this time the professional one) has conjured up for you, make sure you look for a ‘tuxedo’ or a ‘dinner jacket’ otherwise your English friends may get a bit worried. 

Learn these words so you can enjoy the amazing dinner the chef has cooked for you, wear your tuxedo and enjoy the company of your favourite oldtimer sitting opposite you and the wonderful evening – preferably without any cell phones.

I hope this guide has come in handy.

Rosie Norman-Neubauer
Executive Coach, Tweak-to-Speak Mentor and CEO of Language Center Services
Creator of SavvySpeak
rosie.norman@lc-erlangen.de