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höherbrechend

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Schwiegertiger

English translation:

mother-in-law from hell

Added to glossary by GeorginaW (X)
Apr 7, 2008 17:40
16 yrs ago
German term

Schwiegertiger

German to English Social Sciences Government / Politics
This is the context:

'Besonders laut wurde es, als Clinton Anfang Januar die Urwahl in Iowa verlor. Penns Positionierung der Bewerberin als weiblicher Taschenrechner habe Clintons Negativwerte in die Höhe getrieben. Penns Gegner zitierten Wählerinnen, die Hillary als „Schwiegertiger“ empfunden hatten, als Machtfrau, die berechnend wirke. Es wurde aber damals nur Clintons Vertraute Patti Solis Doyle entlassen.'
Proposed translations (English)
4 mother-in-law from hell
4 +2 battleaxe
4 +1 monster in law
4 crouching tiger
2 +1 monster
Change log

Apr 7, 2008 18:43: Kim Metzger changed "Field" from "Other" to "Social Sciences"

Apr 9, 2008 16:13: GeorginaW (X) Created KOG entry

Discussion

Rachel Ward Apr 7, 2008:
I've also seen "milzilla" for an overbearing M-i-L but mainly on message boards etc so it wouldn't be the quote here.
BrettMN (asker) Apr 7, 2008:
There have been so many polls during this long election season, so many descriptions of Hillary Clinton, so many different angles, that I doubt anyone will find the "one" descriptor/poll being referred to here, because I'm not sure there is just one poll. "Schwiegertiger" was probably a humorous attempt to encapsulate all the different descriptions. We should still keep looking for a possible translation though!
BrettMN (asker) Apr 7, 2008:
Samantha Powers' comment certainly got a lot of press, but here I think they're referring to the feelings of voters/constituents (Wählerinnen): "Penns Gegner zitierten Wählerinnen, die Hillary als „Schwiegertiger“ ....

Powers, one political insider working for the competition, doesn't seem to be the referent.
Hilary Davies Shelby Apr 7, 2008:
Am wondering if it was Samantha Power's comment (see my answer below)?
Hilary Davies Shelby Apr 7, 2008:
I did wonder about that, too, and have some ideas, but it would obviously be misquoting to refer to her as a "manipulative shrew" unless we knew for sure that that what was said ;-).
Kim Metzger Apr 7, 2008:
You need to find out what women voters actually said about Hillary. Your journalist has taken some liberties.
BrettMN (asker) Apr 7, 2008:
Can it also mean something a bit more generic, not necessarily about a "mother in law"? In this context, regarding Hillary Clinton, it would seem to be more generic than that. True?
Andrea Winzer Apr 7, 2008:
I like this expression! Even better then "tiger". :-)
BrettMN (asker) Apr 7, 2008:
"Monster in law"!
Andrea Winzer Apr 7, 2008:
That's what you call your mother-in-law, especially if you do not have a pleasant relationship with her; if she is very intrusive, overbearing, interfering in your life, tells you what to do etc. Do you have a special Engish term for that?

Proposed translations

15 hrs
Selected

mother-in-law from hell

Hillary's often compared to a poisonous ex-wife or, by women, a monstrous mother in law
Example sentence:

A broken down War Horse,The Mother in-law from Hell,A Wet behind the ears surrealist

Reference:

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/4603

Note from asker:
You know, for a lot of reasons, I really like this answer. Not ready to close this question yet, but thank you!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you to everyone for this most fascinating process! I ultimately decided on this answer because I think it's probably closest to the meaning intended. "Moster-in-law" is a bit too harsh and too specific to mothers-in-law. This response, especially in quotes (as it was in the original) could refer also to women voters' impressions of Hillary, even though she is not of course literally their mother-in-law. Thanks again!"
+1
26 mins

monster in law

das triffts glaub ich

Reference:

http://www.moviereporter.net/filme/124-das-schwiegermonster-monster-in-law

Peer comment(s):
agree Hilary Davies Shelby : exactly! Along the same lines, I've also heard the term "stepmonster" used for "stepmother". I wish I'd known the term "Schwiegertiger" when I had to deal with my German ex's mother! ;-)//Re Kim's comment - I did wonder about that too.
2 mins
neutral Kim Metzger : I think this is a fine translation of Schwiegertiger - or even mother-in-law from hell, but did women voters use those terms in the poll mentioned?
20 mins
neutral Nicholas Krivenko : This is lovely translation using the title of a recent comedy movie, but I would be slow to use it in this context.
1 hr
agree Erika Berrai-Flynn : Genau und treffend.
3 hrs
disagree MrsHoward : great translation, but inappropriate for this context, only if one is related to the person could one refer to "monster-in-law"
9 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

monster

I'm wondering if the article is referring to Samantha Powers' "monster" comments:
"Hillary Clinton's a monster': Obama aide blurts out attack in Scotsman interview"
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Inside-US-poll-ba...

There are also quite a lot of Google results for "manipulative Machiavellian monster" - that seems to be another journalist's view.
Peer comment(s):
agree Nicholas Krivenko : I agree with "manipulative Machiavellian monster", but not with a simple "monster". There are indeed no references to any type of animal, in-law or otherwise, in connection with Mrs Clinton.
35 mins
Hiya - the 'monster' comment was made by an Obama aide and resulted in her resignation - was quite well-publicised. If this isn't the incident to which the Asker's text is referring, then 'monster' is probably wrong in this context. Still looking...
Something went wrong...
+2
2 hrs

battleaxe

This term fits the context, meaning a confrontational woman, or as Merriam-Webster puts it:

"a usually older woman who is sharp-tongued, domineering, or combative"

It's not specific to in-laws, and it probably is not a quotation from an actual voter, but it hits the meaning.
Peer comment(s):
agree Kim Metzger : Some adjectives that have come up in polls: coldly ambitious, ego-driven, coldly calculating, coldly duplicitous
17 mins
agree hazmatgerman (X) : If a translation is required despite source being a translation in the first place, this fits nicely.
14 hrs
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

crouching tiger

from a Chinese idiom 'like a coiling dragon and crouching tiger'—meaning a forbidding strategic point. A variation on this saying inspired the title of the award-winning Chinese movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
Example sentence:

the "crouching tiger" awaits an opportunity to attack

Reference:

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/00/11/crouching.html

http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v23/i4/tigerdinosaur.asp

Something went wrong...
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