Post by Tim KynerdPost by Evertjan."better smart in secret,
than an eery thickhead"
Yeah, to start with, I wasn't offering a translation, but continuing
on an established theme. I think it was quite obvious that what I
wrote wasn't a translation of the German; neither was the French
phrase in the post I responded to (it only contained half of the idea
found in the German original).
I was not adressing you personally. Please don't take it as such.
Post by Tim KynerdAnd "eerie thickhead" (I've never encountered the spelling "eery"
before and hope I never shall again)
Perhaps you never encountered it, indeed, but I did.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
Main Entry: ee·rie
Variant(s): also ee·ry /'ir-E, 'Er-/
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): ee·ri·er; -est
Etymology: Middle English (northern dialect) eri
1 chiefly Scottish : affected with fright : SCARED
2 : so mysterious, strange, or unexpected as to send a chill up the spine
<a coyote's eerie howl> <the similarities were eerie>; also : seemingly
not of earthly origin <the flames cast an eerie glow>
Post by Tim Kynerdmakes no sense in English.
It makes no sense in German,
because the heimlich and unheimlich are not opposites.
Therefore I was not trying to make sense, but trying to show the rhyme.
--
Evertjan.
The Netherlands.
(Replace all crosses with dots in my emailaddress)