Kafka question Thread poster: motuihe
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motuihe
United Kingdom
Italian to English
Sorry not in German. Anyone know the expresssion "these travelling salesmen are like bugs"? Danke so much in advance
Sou... See more
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Jan Truper 
Germany
Local time: 04:41
Member (2016)
English to German
I never heard of it as a set, established expression or phrase.
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motuihe
United Kingdom
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
The source says he picked it up from Germany. Could it be possibly from another language czech? Or maybe just local to a certain area where they use this expression?
[Edited at 2019-03-07 17:26 GMT]
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| Schmeißfliegen | Mar 7, 2019 |
In German we often use the Expression "Schmeißfliegen" for this concept. It Expresses that they come uninvitedly and stick to you and that you cannot easily get rid of them. Basically it is the concept of unwanted soliciting. Hope it helps.
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And in the context of Kafka I think there is something with "Käfer" but I do not remember well what it is... Keep searching.
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Katrin Braams
Germany
Local time: 04:41
Member (2018)
English to German
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| Die Verwandlung | Mar 7, 2019 |
I guess it refers to Kafka‘s Verwandlung. Salesmen are called Handlungsreisende and there is a lot of talk about Ungeziefer.
Handlungsreisende sind wie Ungeziefer???
Perhaps google will know more.
[Edited at 2019-03-07 21:53 GMT]
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ibz
Local time: 04:41
Member (2007)
English to German
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| See KudoZ questions | Mar 8, 2019 |
Not Kafka said this but Adorno:
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| Thanks motuihe! | Mar 8, 2019 |
I'm the original enquirer To clarify, as ibz pointed out, Adorno claims Kafka was literalising "a German expression" ("Those travelling salesmen are like bugs") in Verwandlung, suggesting it was a common figure of speech; I was just wondering if anyone is aware of such an expression really having existed. It doesn't sound like the kind of phrase that would enter into the realm of idiom, but who knows.
Even if it was e... See more I'm the original enquirer To clarify, as ibz pointed out, Adorno claims Kafka was literalising "a German expression" ("Those travelling salesmen are like bugs") in Verwandlung, suggesting it was a common figure of speech; I was just wondering if anyone is aware of such an expression really having existed. It doesn't sound like the kind of phrase that would enter into the realm of idiom, but who knows.
Even if it was ever in common usage, the chances are it would have dropped out of usage with the decline in travelling salesmen, so there may simply not be a record of it, but I'm curious to know if anyone's ever heard of it.
Thank you all for the replies so far! ▲ Collapse
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motuihe
United Kingdom
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Odd that a German philosopher says it is a German expression yet no other Germans seem to have heard it. Maybe it was used in a certain area last in the early part of last century and just fizzled out?
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Yes, I agree; it could well have died out. My suspicion is that it was more of a sentiment about travelling salesmen than an expression, and Adorno was being a bit "creative" with his phrasing to imply that the bug comparison was in common circulation in order to bolster his argument.
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 05:41
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| Heuschrecken? | Mar 11, 2019 |
Leider lebte ich zu Kafkas Zeiten noch nicht. Ist ja unmöglich aus einer englischen Übersetzung zu schließen, was ursprünglich gemeint war. Heuschrecken = locust
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