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Wallrathslichterfabrik
in Verzugsetzung
This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
May 14, 2010 16:41
14 yrs ago
German term

die Wutze wird sichtbar

German to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
"In [eines bestimmten Malers] Relevanz wird die Wutze praktisch
sichtbar."

this is a fake quote from an art magazine in a novel - but what on earth is "die Wutze"? I've looked in all the dictionaries and only come up with "die Wutz", which is Alemannic for a piggy. can anybody help?

it's also entirely possible that the translator has made this up as a parody of art-mag-talk...
Proposed translations (English)
3 the painter has gone hog wild
2 "the wildness is visible"

Discussion

S P Willcock (X) (asker) May 15, 2010:
apologies! my original query should have said that it is quite possible that the *author* made up the word -- but it's fairly clearly a dialect variation of Wutz, and must have something to do with money.
mill2 May 15, 2010:
translator? Is this a translated text? You mention that the translator could have made up the term?
Barbara Wiebking May 15, 2010:
Stolz wie die Wutze? Found this reference, maybe it helps? http://www.saarbruecker-zeitung.de/sz-berichte/sport/Der-erf...
S P Willcock (X) (asker) May 15, 2010:
will consult author I'm only 10% of the way through the book and I'll build up a few more of these before I consult the author (in fact, I'd be glad if I only end up with 10 such instances) - but at the moment I'm inclining toward the idea about money ("Wutze-teuer"), if only because it would allow me some English equivalent about "bringing home the bacon" or similar.
Annett Kottek (X) May 15, 2010:
Perhaps as an ironic commentary on the artist/contemporary art world?
Annett Kottek (X) May 15, 2010:
Maybe it’s a euphemism/slang for money, along the lines of ‘Mäuse’ or ‘Kröten’ [‘dough’, ‘bread’, ‘moola’, ‘bucks’, etc]? ‘Practically’ suggests that it’s not actually in the picture but that it can be inferred. There’s also the painting’s title ‘Relevanz’ [‘relevance’, ‘pertinence’] - - could this in any way relate to money and the importance of? I'm just guessing.. What else is going on in the novel?

Confer also: ‘Wutze-Teuer’ [schweineteuer]: http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-26-8652.html
Stephen Reader May 14, 2010:
Possibly 'redundant' fem. form Wutze 1) With Armorel, is the author living and can you get back to her/him? 2) - Needs verification but cf. this for 'die Wutze': Hessischer Sprachschatz — der Freitag
28. Nov. 2009 ... [ comments 4 ]. ruhrrot schrieb am 28.11.2009 um 20:15. Wutze Schnuppe (Wutze bedeutet Schwein und Schnuppe Grippe) ...
www.freitag.de › Community - Im Cache - Ähnlich
S P Willcock (X) (asker) May 14, 2010:
context won't help! it's almost a random aside in the context, so there's really nothing leading up to it. I'm convinced it's an Alemannic countryman's proverb but I'm hanged if I know what...
Jonathan MacKerron May 14, 2010:
grunt/oink? Grimm implies this connotation
Armorel Young May 14, 2010:
More context would help Any chance that you could post the entire paragraph, or at least a reasonable chunk of what immediately precedes this?

Proposed translations

3 hrs

"the wildness is visible"

This is a bit of a stretch, since it would suppose a mistake in the original, supposing it is intended to read "die Wutz wird sichtbar" (or "die Wutze wErdEN sichtbar").
BUT anyway,
a) Wutze become "visible/sichtbar" when someone lets them out, plus
b) Wutz is a synonym for Sau, so "die Wutz rauslassen" means "to let your hair down", "to whoop it up" or "to go hog wild".
Ergo "Wutz wird sichtbar" when something/one goes (hog) wild.

Iwc, the source phrase would read: "the wildness is practically visible/evident..."
Example sentence:

""Looks like somebody´s been whooping it up. ... die Sau rauslassen" (means) ...to let your hair down."

"The teacher cannot control a class that is going hog wild."

Reference:

http://dict.leo.org/forum/viewUnsolvedquery.php?idThread=698405&idForum=2&lp=ende&lang=de

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/go+hog+wild

Something went wrong...
12 hrs

the painter has gone hog wild

Think it refers to the artist splashing out and going to excesses in his painting. The extra "e" on Wutz might just be a dialect variant.
Reference:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:j3jT23Z16O8J:idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hog+hog%2Bidioms&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=fi

Peer comment(s):
neutral Lonnie Legg : a variant of what I proposed.../ I understand, thanks.
4 hrs
Yes, sorry, I'll make sure you get the points if I "win", but in fact I got there myself by looking up idioms with "hog" - to hog it, to go the whole hog etc.
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