Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
alles heißt Rezept
English translation:
everything goes (is done) by the book
Added to glossary by
Yorkshireman
Jan 10, 2014 16:13
10 yrs ago
2 viewers *
German term
alles heißt Rezept
German to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Art - Schiele
I'm translating a text on Egon Schiele and this is from a letter he wrote his future brother-in-law about needing to get out of Vienna. There are quite a few of his letters etc in the text and he had a very eccentric style so is often hard to understand. Any suggestions for what he's getting at here would be very gratefully received!
„Peschka!“,
schreibt Schiele darin, „ich möchte fort von Wien,
ganz bald. Wie häßlich ist’s hier. – Alle Leute sind
neidisch zu mir und hinterlistig; ehemalige Kollegen
schauen mit fal schen Augen auf mich. In Wien ist
Schatten, die Stadt ist schwarz, **alles heißt Rezept.** Ich
will alleine sein. Nach dem Böhmerwald möcht’ ich.“
„Peschka!“,
schreibt Schiele darin, „ich möchte fort von Wien,
ganz bald. Wie häßlich ist’s hier. – Alle Leute sind
neidisch zu mir und hinterlistig; ehemalige Kollegen
schauen mit fal schen Augen auf mich. In Wien ist
Schatten, die Stadt ist schwarz, **alles heißt Rezept.** Ich
will alleine sein. Nach dem Böhmerwald möcht’ ich.“
Proposed translations
(English)
References
Johanna Timm, PhD |
Change log
Jan 12, 2014 15:35: Yorkshireman Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+2
36 mins
Selected
everything goes (is done) by the book
everything is regulated by petty laws (and the KuK Geheimpolizei)
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Note added at 1 hr (2014-01-10 17:46:50 GMT)
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Rezept = prescription
By the book = prescribed (alles läuft so vorschriftsmäßig ab, alles wird vorgeschrieben)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-01-10 17:46:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Rezept = prescription
By the book = prescribed (alles läuft so vorschriftsmäßig ab, alles wird vorgeschrieben)
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Lancashireman
: 'prescriptive' would work here
7 hrs
|
agree |
Horst Huber (X)
: This comes closest to the German, maybe without "goes"? It is maybe not just the authorities, it's about everybody failing to think outside the box.
9 hrs
|
agree |
AllegroTrans
: "everything by the book" would work very well
18 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "This works best for me, but the others are good suggestions too."
19 mins
It's all systematic and symptomatic ( "It's oppressive")
"Peshka!" Schiele writes, "I'd like to get awy from Vienna as soon as possible. How horrible it is here.People are envious and underhand with me; former colleagues look at me with contempt. In Vienna there are shadows, the city is dark, it's all systematic and symptomatic (of the same thing, i.e, oppression). I want to be alone, and head for the Böhmerwald ;"
19 mins
Rules, rules, rules!
And more rules.
Sticking my neck out here
Sticking my neck out here
+1
30 mins
Everything is scripted [,no freewill, no spontaneity]
oh, yes, he is soooo right!
die Menschen als Roboter
:)
[get me out of here, too!]
+4
34 mins
everything is so rigid
I think I would translate it like this. See my discussion post.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
AllegroTrans
7 hrs
|
Thanks, AllegroTrans
|
|
agree |
Usch Pilz
14 hrs
|
Thanks, Usch
|
|
agree |
Rebecca Garber
22 hrs
|
Thanks, Rebecca
|
|
agree |
Eleanore Strauss
: this characterizes the sentiment nicely, or, closer to the text, 'everything is so scripted' - oops - just saw this is already a suggestion
1 day 7 hrs
|
Thanks, ElliCom, for me 'scripted' is too modern an idiom.
|
1 hr
nothing changes.
"nothing changes" or "nothing ever changes" ... maybe an option?
6 hrs
no one dares to say "boo!" to a cat
This may be too regional. It was quite common in the sixties and seventies to express an oppressive, unchanging, stifling stiffness.
Another one is:
same ole, same ole
Another one is:
same ole, same ole
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
AllegroTrans
: I always thought it was "boo to a goose"
1 hr
|
Also good, but where I come from it was a cat. Southern States
|
+1
16 hrs
everything is regimented
Strictly organized or controlled.
22 hrs
They have a rule for everything
I am assuming the Rezept phrase may have been idiomatic at the time. As a result, I am going for something that's also idiomatic today and tends to be used a lot by people feeling tied down by rules...
In addition, I'd go for the above because it's typically used more negatively than "There's a rule for everything"
In addition, I'd go for the above because it's typically used more negatively than "There's a rule for everything"
Reference comments
6 hrs
Reference:
Found this on pinterest:
1) Letter from Egon Schiele to Anton Peschka, 1910. "I wish to leave Vienna, very soon. How ugly it is here. Everybody is envious of me and deceitful; former colleagues look at me with dissembling eyes, in Vienna there is only shadow, the city is black, everything is done by recipe. I want to be alone.
1) Letter from Egon Schiele to Anton Peschka, 1910. "I wish to leave Vienna, very soon. How ugly it is here. Everybody is envious of me and deceitful; former colleagues look at me with dissembling eyes, in Vienna there is only shadow, the city is black, everything is done by recipe. I want to be alone.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
neutral |
Helen Shiner
: hmmm
1 hr
|
agree |
Sabine Reynaud
: Great reference. Schiele was such a bad boy. He was supposed to have great handwriting though, however I can't really decipher the passage in question.
1 day 3 hrs
|
Thanks! Yep, not easy to read, for sure...I finally managed to identify"Rezept": 7th line from the top.
|
Discussion
bourgeois, rigid