Last night, I watched Schreie der Vergessenen, a German ghost story movie. (Ghost stories are ideal for language learners because they follow a predictable–nay, one might say, ritualized–pattern.) At one point, the hero was talking with the villain. He was going to bring her to justice. She smiled and said something I didn’t catch, ending with “…die Zähne ausbeißen.” Wait–did she just say he was going to knock his teeth out? Yes, she did.
In German, sich an etwas die Zähne ausbeißen literally means to break or knock one’s teeth out chewing on something. But figuratively, it means to take on a very difficult challenge. In English, we say, “That’s a hard nut to crack.” Etwas, an dem [Leute] sich die Zähne ausbeißen can end up being translated as a stumbling block, a trap, or an ongoing issue. But the sense in German isn’t always negative. A detective computer game promises “vier faszinierenden Fällen, an denen du dir die Zähne ausbeißen kannst” — “four fascinating cases for you to knock your teeth out on.” Fun indeed!
