Spectator 1919

[greyfox]

'Idiomatisch' by Doc is this week's challenge:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/article_assets/arti cledir_7405/3702908/crossword.pdf

Have fun.

gf

[Mysterons]

Thanks Helveticus - our postings seem to be crossing with each other today !!

I suppose any dictionary becomes outdated very rapidly these days - another reason why regularly updated electronic reference tools are so useful.

It's a shame the precise source was not cited for this otherwise satisfying puzzle.

[dr b]

Thanks to the preceding discussion I think I have 13/4, though if I'm correct I agree that the first word in 4 seems misspelled. No thoughts on the other two pairs, though. If someone can either shoot me to put me out of my misery (probably not a good idea - plane fare to get here would be prohibitively expensive) or give me some subtle hints as to the English versions of the idioms, I would appreciate it.

[robinruth]

Dr B, Try feeding 'everything is hunky-dory' into an on-line translation tool for the start of 25/40 - feeding that into the web should give you a sort of flattering greasy conclusion (2,6) to the phrase.

Then for 16/27 do some research on Wikipedia into Hitler's 1941 policy to remove threatening political people to concentration camps (you'll need to add a short word (3) in front to show that this took place 'by' cover of darkness

[dr b]

RR: Thanks! I'm in butter!

[whatsthat]

Thanks to all for your help putting me on the right track - obwohl ich Deutsch spreche.
I couldn't log in with Mysterons' link, but thanks to my online library membership I found what I needed eventually.
Helveticus, I haven't heard 25D/40A in this form either, for me there's one unnecessary word. But the first word in 4A is really four letters!

Now I shall go and solve the few remaining clued lights I have.

[novalis]

As a (sogenannter ) German "specialist" I had a little bit of an advantage and actually knew three of the idioms. A quick check of my book of German idioms confirmed the fourth. I fully agree, however, both that it was a little unfair on those who don't have Brewers and/or don't speak German and, as Whatsthat has posted, that there is an extra word in one of them which is very rarely if ever used.
Whatsthat -- I would love to see your standard of German in all the public exam scripts which I mark. ( Subordinating conjunction with correct word order, I'll give you 6 for both Range and Complexity of language and Accuracy, 6 being the maximum mark. )

[Mysterons]

I'm sorry that the link didn't work for you whatsthat, and glad that you gained access 'legitimately' ! For others
who need to find the site, go to your County Library website, and look for Credo Reference in the Online Reference section. You will need your Library Card number to log in, as long as your library subscribes to the service (I think that most do). Once in, search for this topic in the Language section, which will access the 17th edition of Brewers.

[bathtub]

I don't understand why the first word of 4 is in dispute, unless I'm missing something (which I could be - I have it as 'wein' - should it be something else?)

I found all of the idioms easy to Google, based on my (very sketchy) German and the predictive results in the Google searchbar.

I've verified all of the answers online, but now of course I have to verify them in Brewers, since that's the bible in this instance, whether it's right or wrong!

Unfortunately our local library doesn't seem to offer a helpful log-in to the reference site mentioned earlier, so a trip to the ref is on the cards for Monday morning.

[Ironie]

Sorry I'm joining this thread a bit late, but as an expat Brit who's lived in Germany for many years (and studied German before coming!), this puzzle was of course just up my street. I admire all you non-specialists who managed to crack it without the help of the latest Brewer's. My Brewer (15th edition) offers no help either, but being more or less bilingual in English and German it didn't take me long to work out the idioms in question.
Just two final comments from me (as it's all been said before really): I am puzzled by anyone expecting the German word for 'wine' to have 5 letters. What were they thinking of, I wonder? And it is true that the wording of 25/40 is a slight distortion of what the idiom actually is. The usual phrase begins with 'Es' and the next two words are then in the opposite order, so if this version is based on Brewer, it should be corrected in the next edition.
Auf ein Neues und alles Gute an ale Speccie fans!

[dr b]

These last two comments now have me confused - does the idiom in question not translate to "bring water to the Rhine"? (ie coals to Newcastle?) I thought the confusion was over the spelling of Rhine.

[Ironie]

Dear Dr B,
No, the saying has nothing to do with the river Rhine, it refers to dampening someone's enthusiasm by metaphorically diluting what ought to be drunk undiluted! Okay?

[Christiana]

Finally got round to a bit of serious work on this and now finished. My thanks to everyone who gave pointers to the German phrases.

[crucifernz]

My German is rusty and not particularly idiomatic (more Wagnerian or Schubertian) and I don't have a copy of the appropriate Brewer. With alll those hints from you solvers, I hope I get there. I agree with most of you that this was rather too specialised for most Specci-ites.