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German: Aushängeschild

English translation: a real advertisement; a walking advertisement



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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Aushängeschild
English translation:a real advertisement; a walking advertisement
Entered by:LittleBalu
Options:
- Contribute to this entry

5:25pm Dec 3, 2005Login or register (free) for more options.
German to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
German term or phrase: Aushängeschild
Praise of a company owner for one of his employees (who is a construction machine operator and has worked for the company for about 25 years): "Herr XXX ist genauso zuverlässig wie seine Maschine. Er ist das ***Aushängeschild*** der Firma YYY auf der Baustelle."

A KudoZ glossary entry gives "figurehead" but I'm not sure this fits here. Help is much appreciated.
LittleBalu
Germany
Clarification request(s) and response
xxxFrancis Lee: 2:54pm Dec 5, 2005: Is this for a reference or c.v., Little Bear? -
LittleBalu: 3:08pm Dec 5, 2005: @Francis: - No, it's from an article in a company magazine.

he is a real advertisement for the firm when on the building site
Explanation:
this seems to be the sum of what they are getting at
Selected response from:

mbrodie
United Kingdom
Note from asker to answerer
First of all, a big thank you goes to all of you for the overwhelming response to my question. Once again, I wish I could split points. :-( In the end, I decided to go with mbrodie's and Gruffalo's suggestion that a person can also be some kind of "advertisement". The points go to you, mbrodie, because you suggested it first. Thanks again.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3embodies the fine qualities
Lori Dendy-Molz
4 +1exemplary employeeRobert Fischer
3 +2he is a real advertisement for the firm when on the building site
mbrodie
3 +1a role model
Giovanni Rengifo
4embodiment
gangels
4proud of him representing the YYY company on the sitesilvia glatzhofer
4figureheadAstrid Wanke
3 +1representative figure
Frosty
3 +1assurance of quality
Andrew Swift
3front-runner
Nicole Schnell
2 +1the right stuffxxxFrancis Lee
3walking advertisementGruffalo
3living embodimentrangepost
3the ideal representative of...
Nesrin
3"showpiece"
Stephen Sadie
4 -1poster childSigrid Junkermann


  

Answers

6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Aushängeschild a role model

Explanation:
Maybe this could work.

Giovanni Rengifo
Colombia
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree xxx1atranslatio: I agree with this version in the context....
21 hrs
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
figurehead

Explanation:
according to Muret-Sanders, too.
Another option could be "poster worker/employee" in analogy to "poster child".

Astrid Wanke
Germany
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral xxxFrancis Lee: passt hier leider nicht, obwohl ich mir schon wünschen würde, dass einem solchen ("einfachen") Mitarbeiter diese Anerkennung gegönnt wäre
1 day21 hrs
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
representative figure

Explanation:
Perhaps?

Frosty
Germany
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree franglish: ... or living representation?
11 mins
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
exemplary employee

Explanation:
He is an exemplary employee of Firma XXX on the construction site.

Robert Fischer
United States
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree xxxFrancis Lee: this is what they actually mean; das mitm "Aushängeschild" bedeute natürlich nicht, dass die Firma mit seiner Person und seinen Fähigkeiten auch tatsächlich wirbt; "model employee" ? (obwohl eventuell ein bissi schwach)
1 day21 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
assurance of quality

Explanation:
He is Company YYY's assurance of quality on the building site
(He is the 'pride and joy' of this company)

Andrew Swift
United Kingdom
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 89

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree xxxFrancis Lee: I also thought about something with the "pride and joy" element; this is not quite "it" IMO, but certainly along the right lines
1 day20 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
"showpiece"

Explanation:
He's company yyy's "showpiece" [in inverted commas] may well fit this context

Stephen Sadie
Germany
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 44
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Aushängeschild embodies the fine qualities

Explanation:
...of our company at the construction site.


Lori Dendy-Molz
Germany
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 18

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree silvia glatzhofer: that's nice
1 min
  -> thanks!
agree Steven Sidore: just the right touch
36 mins
  -> thanks!
agree xxxFrancis Lee: or something with "quintessential" ? / Looks like sunrise confession time for us both ...
1 day19 hrs
  -> sure, why not (especially if we're getting paid by the character) ;-)
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Aushängeschild proud of him representing the YYY company on the site

Explanation:
ein etwas anderer Ansatz
We are really proud of him representing our company on site/on the building site

silvia glatzhofer
Austria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral Steven Sidore: Grammar's not quite right. The phrase "proud of him" is not used with a follow-on verb; it would instead be "We are proud to have him representing..."
14 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Aushängeschild poster child

Explanation:
a poster child does not have to be a child, it can be anyone, or even a non-person entity (see links)



    Reference: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Pringle0124.htm
    Reference: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/08/01/dotcomguy/
Sigrid Junkermann
United States
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree Steven Sidore: Not quite right in this context.
14 hrs
neutral xxxFrancis Lee: glaub ich auch nicht
1 day22 hrs
neutral Kim Metzger: A poster child is either a child suffering from a disease or handicap or anyone who represents somthing negative: "He was a living poster child for the evil potential of inherited wealth”
619 days
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Aushängeschild the ideal representative of...

Explanation:

He is the ideal representative of the firm on the building site.

Or even "ideal ambassador"? (Maybe a bit too much for a construction machine operator)


Nesrin
United Kingdom
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 20
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
embodiment

Explanation:
At the construction site, he is the embodiment of what the company stands for.


Or 'the symbol'

gangels
United States
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 20
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
living embodiment

Explanation:
He is the living embodiment of [the company] at the worksite

rangepost
United States
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
he is a real advertisement for the firm when on the building site

Explanation:
this seems to be the sum of what they are getting at

mbrodie
United Kingdom
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 11
Note from asker to answerer
First of all, a big thank you goes to all of you for the overwhelming response to my question. Once again, I wish I could split points. :-( In the end, I decided to go with mbrodie's and Gruffalo's suggestion that a person can also be some kind of "advertisement". The points go to you, mbrodie, because you suggested it first. Thanks again.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree Colin Newberry
13 hrs
agree Gruffalo: just realised that my suggestion is very similar - but hadn't noticed when I had my sudden inspiration. Apologies.
2 days1 hr
  -> it's ok, happened to me before now too
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Aushängeschild front-runner

Explanation:
Another possibility.

Nicole Schnell
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral xxxFrancis Lee: bedeutet eher sowas wie Favorit (bei einer Presiverleihung oder einem Wettbewerb) oder Spitzenkandidat
1 day12 hrs
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20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
walking advertisement

Explanation:
Maybe this would fit?
"X is a walking advertisement for the company on site".

Gruffalo
United Kingdom
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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1 day22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the right stuff

Explanation:
e.g.:
'He certainly is/has the "right stuff" when it comes to YYY's on-site work/operations/activities.'
Anglo-American staff newsletters/magazines tend to have a more down-to-earth touch than their German counterparts ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 7 mins (2005-12-05 17:33:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

He exemplifies the spirit ... ?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 10 mins (2005-12-05 17:36:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

epitomizes/is the epitomy ?

xxxFrancis Lee
Germany
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 80

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree Gruffalo: I like "exemplifies or epitomizes the spirit"
6 hrs
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