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Frage:
painted into a corner, to paint yourself into a corner etc.  
von Thorsten1 (DE), 2008-08-11, 13:47  like dislike  Spam?  
Is there a crisp way of saying this in German? I'm not thinking of some longish circumscription (like "sich in eine Lage bringen, aus der man schlecht wieder herauskommt"), but something that isn't longer than the English phrase (at least not much) and similarly graphic.
Antwort: 
Damit hast Du die Arschkarte gezogen.  #352472
von Dracs (DE), 2008-08-11, 13:49  like dislike  Spam?  
Antwort: 
Ernst  #352473
von Thorsten1 (DE), 2008-08-11, 13:51  like dislike  Spam?  
Thanks for encouraging me! ;)
I just thought of "sich in eine Ecke manövrieren", but I suppose there must be something better...
Antwort: 
ich glaube ErnstLustig meinte das wörtlich  #352483
von Netti (DE), 2008-08-11, 14:06  like dislike  Spam?  87.150.137....
also "Arschkarte gezogen" im Sinne von in einer Situation sein, aus der man schlecht wieder herauskommt.
Antwort: 
Ooops  #352489
von Thorsten1 (DE), 2008-08-11, 14:14  like dislike  Spam?  
I didn't even think of that! ;) However, I'm not happy with it: In my book "Arschkarte gezogen" simply means having bad luck, whereas when you've painted yourself into a corner you find yourself in some inescapable situation, or one you can't leave saving face, due to your very own fault.
Antwort: 
echt in der Scheiße sitzen  #352490
von kahaag (DE), 2008-08-11, 14:16  like dislike  Spam?  
aber ich denke, "to paint someone into a corner" bedeutet eher: "jemanden in die Enge treiben" - "to have got someone cornered"
Antwort: 
LINK  http://www.phrasen.com/uebersetze,to-paint-someone-into-a-corner,72...  #352509
von Proteus, 2008-08-11, 15:20  like dislike  Spam?  194.166.204....
Antwort: 
Schließe mich also kahaag an > jdn in die Enge treiben  #352511
von Proteus, 2008-08-11, 15:21  like dislike  Spam?  194.166.204....
Antwort: 
kahaag / Proteus  #352516
von Thorsten1 (DE), Last modified: 2008-08-11, 15:38  like dislike  Spam?  
Thanks, but your suggestion doesn't really do the trick: Like "Arschkarte ziehen", "in der Scheiße sitzen" (quite apart from the issue of vulgarity) simply means you're in deep trouble without explaining how you got there, the way "painting yourself into a corner" does.
Here's a cartoon that gives a pretty good idea: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/painted_into_a_corner.asp
On another note, you can "paint yourself into a corner", but not someone else. (At least that wouldn't be a common thing to say.) Imagine a person painting the floor of a room, backing towards a corner rather than the door. In the end, that person can't get out of the corner without having to step through wet paint. That's completely different from "cornering" someone else. About as different as "den Ast absägen, auf dem man sitzt" and "an seinem Stuhl sägen". ;)
Sorry if I look like I ask people only to criticize their answers. I appreciate your help!
Antwort: 
Deine Argumente sind nicht ganz schlüssig, Thorsten1 > in die Enge treiben / (im Sinne von) in eine ausweglose Lage bringen  #352536
von Proteus, 2008-08-11, 15:58  like dislike  Spam?  194.166.204....
Antwort: 
Thanks Proteus  #352545
von Thorsten1 (DE), Last modified: 2008-08-11, 16:29  like dislike  Spam?  
I suppose I hadn't stated my problem clear enough.

First, I stand corrected - I shouldn't have said categorically that you can't paint someone else into a corner. Such a phrase does exist, but it's exceedingly rare compared to "paint yourself into a corner": "painted (me|him|her|them|you|us) into a corner" has 1,270 Google hits, while "painted (myself|himself|herself|themselves|yourself|ourselves) into a corner" has 74,100. To put things into the proper perspective, we're looking at a percentage of 1.7 for the non-reflexive use here.
Google
Google

Quite regardless of how common "painting somebody into a corner" actually is, I was (am) strictly looking for a translation of "painting one+self+ into a corner", which can't be translated the same  way. "Sich selbst in die Enge treiben" just sounds wrong. "Sich in eine ausweglose Lage bringen" is quite OK, but doesn't capture the metaphorical, slightly humorous tone of the original, which is reflected in the cartoons. Please keep your ideas coming! :)
Antwort: 
How about the good old 'in der Klemme sitzen'? Or would 'Zwickmühle' be more appropriate in your context?  #352647
von Wilfred (DE), 2008-08-12, 08:33  like dislike  Spam?  
Antwort: 
jemanden in die Bredoullie bringen  #352657
von kahaag (DE), 2008-08-12, 09:38  like dislike  Spam?  
supergute Vorschläge, Wilfried... und so naheliegend :-)
Antwort: 
wilfred, kahaag  #353923
von Thorsten1 (DE), 2008-08-15, 15:20  like dislike  Spam?  
Sorry I couldn't reply sooner and thanks for your input. However, in the end I settled for my own "sich in eine Ecke manövrieren". Here's why:
- "sich in die Bredouille bringen" might be OK in some cases, but it's far from a perfect solution. It simply means you are "in real trouble", whereas "paint sb. into a corner" means to take away somebody's options one step at a time. Likewise, according to dict.cc, "Zwickmühle" just means you're in a dilemma, predicament or a "catch-22 situation" (I particularly like the last one). For "Klemme", dict.cc offers dilemma, awkward position, pickle etc. There's one translation, "to be in a tight corner", which is actually pretty close to "painted into a corner", but still no cigar. What I'm missing about all those translations is that, unlike "painting yourself into a corner", they don't tell the reader how you got there - namely, as a result of some incredibly stupid tactics.

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