die Kurve kratzen

German

FWOTD – 2 September 2019

Etymology

Literally, to scratch the curve.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [diː ˈkʊʁvə ˈkʁat͡sn̩]
  • (file)

Verb

die Kurve kratzen (weak, third-person singular present kratzt die Kurve, past tense kratzte die Kurve, past participle die Kurve gekratzt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (colloquial) to hit the road, to clear off
    • 1976, Der Spiegel, number 25/1976, page 70:
      Und wenn sie mit ihrem "Hercules"-Motorrad die Kurve kratzen, dann gern mit aufheulendem Motor.
      And when they hit the road with their "Hercules" motorbike, they like doing it with a roaring engine.
  2. (colloquial) to take a turn, to escape (from an awkward position)
    • 2012, Spiegel Geschichte, issue 5/2012, page 126:
      Aus stickigen Kleinstädten voll selbstgerechter Süddeutscher nach Berlin entkommen, schlugen sie erst einmal furchtbar über die Stränge – bis sie, oft schneller als alle anderen, wieder die Kurve kratzten und bürgerliche Karrieren einschlugen.
      Escaped to Berlin from stuffy small towns full of self-righteous Southern Germans, they first awfully kicked over the traces – until they, often faster than everybody else, took a turn again and started bourgeois careers.

Conjugation

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