[Lexicog] to let one's hair down

[Fritz Goerling]

John,

 

I am learning a lot more about my own language and culture through your
question about the implications of the literal “die Sau rauslassen.” Here is
what I found:

 

There are different interpretations about the origin of this colloquial
expression:

 

1)      In a German card game (played in the south where I am from) the
“Sau” is an ace of any color. So if a player plays this card,

he “lässt die Sau raus” (lets the sow out)

2)      In a night of boozing in the middle ages, drunk students in
Heidelberg opened pigsties and “let the sow out”

3)       In the middle ages there was no garbage collection. All garbage was
thrown on the street. In order to deal with this

problem, sows were let loose because pigs eat everything.

4)      In the middle ages, when people wanted to party for a big event and
did not have a room big enough, they opened pigsties

and let the pigs out.

 

Well, I don’t know what to believe. It seems to me no. 2 and 4 explain the
most the element of uninhibited partying connected with this expression in
modern-day German.

 

To give you an example as a  football (soccer) fan like me: last week I
watched in a Bavarian restaurant in Munich the UEFA cup game between Getafe
(Spain) and Bayern Munich. The Spanish team was leading 3 to 1 in the
prolongation. Only five minutes to go (almost hopeless to tie which would
have enabled Bayern to advance one round) 
 But then Bayern Munich’s
goal-getter Luca Toni scored two more goals, the last one in the last
seconds. You should have seen the explosion of joy of all those who watched
the game. You can imagine that that night “the sow was let out” 
 Everyone
let their hair down.

 

Greetings,

Fritz

 


 

Fritz Goerling wrote: 

Thanks, John, for all this information from dictionaries of English idioms. 

You said “ The last example below from: Bathrobe's Harry Potter in Chinese,
Japanese & Vietnamese Translation is interesting. This site gives some
guidance in how to translate "let your hair down" into Chinese, Japanese &
Vietnamese.” And you asked: “Do you have an equivalent in German?” 

Well, in German one can certainly paraphrase the idea by saying “to drop all
one‘s inhibitions and have a party”. In my part of Germany ( Bavaria ) I
have often heard the expression “die Sau rauslassen” (literally ”to let the
sow out of the pigsty”). One might hear it from the mouth of males who went
to the Octoberfest where they celebrated with good food, lots of beer,
singing and dancing on the tables.” 


What are the implications of the literal “die Sau rauslassen”? I assume the
sow wouldn't go to town and have a party.

John

 

 

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