Is There a German Equivalent For "Shoot the Messenger?"

Question

Is there a German equivalent for "shoot the messenger" (kill the bearer, but not the originator, of bad news)?

I only found this link http://www.forum-3dcenter.org/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-255505.html — bernd_k, Jun 11 '11 at 14:48

splattne · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-11T15:48:03.863

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Not literally equivalent, but this phrase is commonly used in German:

nicht den Überbringer der schlechten Nachrichten (oder Botschaften) bestrafen.

which means: Don't punish the bearers of bad news.

Related: the German for the person who's always blamed even if he or she is innocent: Prügelknabe or Sündenbock (scapegoat).

edited Jun 11 '11 at 15:48

answered Jun 11 '11 at 14:50

splattne

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... or Sündenbock. – Pekka Jun 11 '11 at 15:32
@Pekka danke! ♣ ← 15 characters minimum filling symbol – splattne Jun 11 '11 at 15:51
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"Not literally equivalent." But quite good enough. – Tom Au Jun 11 '11 at 15:55
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Der bestrafte Bote ist aber nur ein Spezialfall des Sündenbocks - daher ist Sündenbock unpassend. – user unknown Jun 12 '11 at 20:23

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 11 '11 at 14:50

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I think "no" is not a sufficient answer, is it? I don't think there is one, at least not a commonly used one. The dictionaries in which I've found it seem to only explain the meaning.

Wikipedia: Shooting the Messenger says that its origin is from a play by Shakespeare. So it could be a proverb without german equivalent.

answered Jun 11 '11 at 14:50

kms

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The "principle" of killing the messenger is ancient though: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bote#Der_.C3.9Cberbringer_der_schlechten_Nachricht – splattne Jun 11 '11 at 14:59

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 12 '11 at 07:48

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Auch wenn die richtige Antwort schon vorliegt: "den Boten bestrafen" (to punish the messenger) ist vielleicht noch etwas kompakter, und Alliterationen sind doch immer was schönes :-)

answered Jun 12 '11 at 07:48

tohuwawohu

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Is There a German Equivalent For "Shoot the Messenger?"

3 Answers3