Grüßaugust

English translation: fixed-smile meeter & greeter

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	Grüßaugust
English translation:	fixed-smile meeter & greeter
Entered by:	Katy L Dean

09:13 Jun 1, 2019

German to English translations [PRO]
Tourism & Travel

German term or phrase: Grüßaugust

I understand the explanation below, but I can't think of an equivalent term in English. Linguee suggests 'figurehead' or 'welcoming clown', but I don't think either of these quite gets across the full intended meaning (plus they do not necessarily specifically refer to hotels, which is important in the text I am translating).

From Wikipedia:

"Grüßaugust (auch Grußaugust, Grußonkel oder Grüßonkel[1]) ist eine salopp abwertende oder scherzhafte Bezeichnung für einen Empfangschef in einem Hotel oder einer Gaststätte sowie für eine Person, die ein repräsentatives Amt bekleidet, mit dem aber keinerlei Machtbefugnisse verbunden sind.[2]"

In the text I am translating, we are talking about a woman and it needs to be pejorative. I have invented 'vacuous welcoming dolly bird', but again I'm not too happy with it. Any suggestions gratefully received. Thank you

Katy L Dean KudoZ activity Questions: 33 (none open) Answers: 1
Local time: 16:38

The fixed-smile meeter-&-greeter; the Cheshire Cat on the front desk

Explanation:
... grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Redolent of some members of the British Royal Family, 'waving to the crowds and grinning' the whole time.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2019-06-01 13:47:04 GMT)
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Glad you like one or both. Coincidentally, I have found - over the years - that native German speakers have no trouble understanding the 'grinning cat' metaphor, but not always the Alice in Wonderland allusion to a 'Cheshire Katze' (vs. Kater, Allegro). Perhaps some of the above could comment.

Selected response from:

Adrian MM.
Austria

Grading comment

There were loads of great suggestions, but I felt your first option 'fixed-smile meeter and greeter' was closest for my specific context. What I actually wrote was: "XXX gets the picture immediately: these gentlemen would like to see their new boss relegated to nothing more than a meeter and greeter, a smiling airhead on the front desk."
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +3

just look pretty and smile/be a mere decoration

Ramey Rieger (X)

4 +1

smilely recepcionist

David Hollywood

3 +1

commissionaire

Sanni Kruger (X)

mere figurehead

Michael Martin, MA

The fixed-smile meeter-&-greeter; the Cheshire Cat on the front desk

Adrian MM.

[phrase]

Jennifer Caisley

glad-hander

Kevin Fulton

greeter/ welcomer/ figurehead/ handshaker

Ebrahim Mohammed

smiley or pretty airhead

Andrea Garfield-Barkworth

Discussion entries: 15

Adrian MM.

Austria

glorified @ Alison MacG

12:34 Jun 3, 2019

Good one(s), Alison. I am as sure as Dr. R. D. Laing would have been that my critics and detractors wouldn't have had any psychologically signfiicant prejudice and mental block about agreeing with your answer(s).

Alison MacG

United Kingdom

glorified?

11:30 Jun 3, 2019

no/little/nothing more than a glorified greeter/receptionist

(Oops - too late!)

David Hollywood

01:15 Jun 2, 2019

and the "smilely" has the pejorative nuance you need

David Hollywood

01:12 Jun 2, 2019

they won't let you down

David Hollywood

01:11 Jun 2, 2019

check out the idea of "smiley receptionist"

TonyTK

Thomas, ....

12:22 Jun 1, 2019

... you should post the "... look pretty and smile".

AllegroTrans

United Kingdom

Good suggestions here

10:21 Jun 1, 2019

Please post them!

Ramey Rieger (X)

Germany

@Thomas

09:51 Jun 1, 2019

Lovely suggestion, please post it.

Katy L Dean

ASKER

09:49 Jun 1, 2019

Thanks Thomas and Jennifer - I can work with that.

It's a biography about a lady who runs a hotel chain, so I have quite a bit of freedom of expression.

The entire section reads as follows:
Zielführend wäre natürlich, das Management bei ihnen zu belassen. Es unter den Profis aufzuteilen. Statt es einer Unerfahrenen in die Hand zu legen.
XXX begreift sofort: Sie, die neue Chefin, soll in der Vorstellung dieser Herren zu einer Art weiblichem Grüssaugust degradiert werden.

Thomas Pfann

United Kingdom

09:47 Jun 1, 2019

What about something along the lines of being 'mere decoration' or that her job is to 'look pretty and smile'?

Ramey Rieger (X)

Germany

Hi Katy!

09:45 Jun 1, 2019

Can we have the sentence in which the term appears? and some surrounding context would definitely be helpful!

Jennifer Caisley

United Kingdom

09:44 Jun 1, 2019

That makes sense - thank you for the rest of the sentence! A snappy little expression would be better than a phrase, then, I think, unless you expanded it a bit - something like "nothing more than a vacuous greeter, of no importance to anyone other than the guests she welcomes day in, day out" (but that might be a little too far from the original, depending on the type of text you're working with!)

Katy L Dean

ASKER

09:40 Jun 1, 2019

sorry, ....nothing more than a vacuous greeter.

Katy L Dean

ASKER

09:39 Jun 1, 2019

Thanks Jennifer - based on your suggestion above, the full sentence could read something like this:
These gentlemen would like to see their new boss relegated to nothing more a vacuous greeter.

Jennifer Caisley

United Kingdom

A suggestion to get the ball rolling

09:36 Jun 1, 2019

This is a tricky one! It's far from a 'Komplettlösung' by any means, but could you try something with 'greeter' (in the sense of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart_greeter), like 'artificially congenial greeter'? Or, depending on the overarching structure of the sentence where the word crops up, could you write a phrase instead? Something like "woman/girl/etc. who stands there with a vacuous smile, welcoming guests with an artifice of cheer"? (I'll have a think for something more satisfactory when I've properly got going for the day, but hopefully this will get the ball rolling!)

Answers

1 hr confidence:

[phrase]

Explanation:
I absolutely love Thomas' 'look pretty and smile', but if you want something that slightly more comprehensively captures the nuts and bolts of her potential role, rather than the implications of it, here's my tentative suggestion:

'nothing more than a vacuous greeter, of no importance to anyone other than the guests she welcomes day in, day out'

Jennifer Caisley
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:38
Native speaker of:

English

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

commissionaire

Explanation:
That's what springs to my mind.

Example sentence(s):

...nothing more than a pretty little/cute commissionaire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissionaire

Sanni Kruger (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

2 hrs confidence:

glad-hander

Explanation:
To glad-hand means to greet someone in an insincerely effusive manner.
This may be an Americanism, however.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glad-hander

Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 11:38
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 3

2 hrs confidence:

greeter/ welcomer/ figurehead/ handshaker

Explanation:
greeter

welcomer

figurehead

handshaker
https://en.pons.com/translate/german-english/Grüßaugust

Ebrahim Mohammed
Germany
Local time: 17:38
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Arabic

1 hr confidence:

mere figurehead

Explanation:
a person who is head of a group, company, etc., in title but actually has no real authority or responsibility:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/figurehead

Vacuous greeter or even welcoming clown doesn't really conjure up much for me.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2019-06-01 12:40:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I also thought of "smiling face of the company" (company's smiling face), but that can be positive or negative, depending on context. How about "ever-smiling face of the company (or whatever it is), to convey a sense of sarcasm?

Michael Martin, MA
United States
Local time: 11:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 46

Notes to answerer

Asker: I think this would definitely work in some contexts

3 hrs confidence:

The fixed-smile meeter-&-greeter; the Cheshire Cat on the front desk

Adrian MM.
Austria
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Notes to answerer

Asker: This is a great option, thanks - it works perfectly in the context

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

AllegroTrans: I always thought Cheshire Cats were tomcats but I may well be wrong

9 mins

-> Paradoxically neutral vs. neutered www.halloweencostumes.com/cheshire-cat-costumes.html Cheshire Cat (*female*). That depends if tomcats in your part of the world are perpetually grinning. The asker may in fact be going for the first alternative.

neutral

Ramey Rieger (X): The Cheshire Cat is definitely a male. Read the book.//Edifying, indeed.

1 day 1 hr

-> As mentioned, the asker may be keener on the first alternative. The second alternative was tongue-in-cheek and meant to attract 'catty put-downs' - and teach native Germans a novel phrase.

neutral

Thomas Pfann: Re 'Cheshire Cat': The cat's gender is completely irrelevant. Both man and women can grin like a Cheshire cat. Wobei grinsen natürlich nicht dasselbe ist wie lächeln!// Cheshire cat = Grinsekatze in German (not 'Cheshire-Katze').

1 day 23 hrs

-> I agree - and so should you have..... I'm still unclear whether 'Cheshire Katze or Kater' is a simile known in German-speaking countries. My (limited half century of) experience from Greifswald and Rügen to Biel/Bienne and Vienna is that it isn't.

15 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

smilely recepcionist

Explanation:
that's the idea

David Hollywood
Local time: 12:38
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 72

1 day 1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

just look pretty and smile/be a mere decoration

Explanation:
This is the best suggestion, so I'm posting this as Thomas has not. If he does, I'll hide mine.

Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Local time: 17:38
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 56

1 day 5 hrs confidence:

smiley or pretty airhead

Explanation:
An airhead is someone who hasn't got much going on between the ears and tends to just be there for decoration.

Andrea Garfield-Barkworth
Germany
Local time: 17:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

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English translation: fixed-smile meeter & greeter

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