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Der Haifisch hat Zähne

English translation: the shark has pretty teeth dear

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Der Haifisch hat Zähne
English translation:the shark has pretty teeth dear
Entered by: Casey Butterfield

08:48 Jun 4, 2008
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
German term or phrase: Der Haifisch hat Zähne
I'm looking for an English equivalent to this phrase and a rough English explanation of the meaning in German.
Casey Butterfield
United States
the shark has pretty teeth dear
Explanation:
Should be the first line of The Ballad of Mack the Knife (German "Moritat von Mackie Messer") from Brecht's Threepenny Opera (Dreigroschenoper).

It begins:

Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne
Und die trägt er im Gesicht
Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht

Wikipedia gives the following literal translation:

And the shark, he has teeth
And he wears them in his face
And Macheath, he has a knife
But the knife one doesn't see

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife)

Seems that Frank Sinatra used these lyrics:

Oh, the shark has pretty teeth dear
And he shows em, pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath dear
And he keeps it way out of sight

(http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank sinatra/mack the knife_20...
Selected response from:

Stefanie Sendelbach
Germany
Local time: 05:08
Grading comment
Fantastic! You have helped me invaluably! Thank you for the fast and thorough answer.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5the shark has pretty teeth dear
Stefanie Sendelbach
4 +1s.u.
Sandra SAYN (X)
2The shark has pretty teeth
Erik Freitag


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
the shark has pretty teeth dear


Explanation:
Should be the first line of The Ballad of Mack the Knife (German "Moritat von Mackie Messer") from Brecht's Threepenny Opera (Dreigroschenoper).

It begins:

Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne
Und die trägt er im Gesicht
Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht

Wikipedia gives the following literal translation:

And the shark, he has teeth
And he wears them in his face
And Macheath, he has a knife
But the knife one doesn't see

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mack_the_Knife)

Seems that Frank Sinatra used these lyrics:

Oh, the shark has pretty teeth dear
And he shows em, pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath dear
And he keeps it way out of sight

(http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank sinatra/mack the knife_20...

Stefanie Sendelbach
Germany
Local time: 05:08
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Fantastic! You have helped me invaluably! Thank you for the fast and thorough answer.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Barbara Wiebking
6 mins
agree  silvia glatzhofer
8 mins
agree  BrigitteHilgner: Very thorough explanation!
20 mins
agree  mary austria: Gorgeous!
23 mins
agree  Rebecca Garber: nice Sinatra quote
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
s.u.


Explanation:
Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne
Und die trägt er im Gesicht
Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Oh the shark has pretty teeth dear,
And he shows them pearly white
Just a jack-knife has Macheath dear
And he keeps it out of sight.

From the German "Dreigroschenoper/Three Penny Opera" by Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht

Sandra SAYN (X)
Germany
Local time: 05:08
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  mary austria: Gorgeous!
23 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
The shark has pretty teeth


Explanation:
Ohne weiteren Kontext schwierig. Auf jeden Fall klingt es nach einem nicht wörtlichen Zitat aus der "Moritat von Mackie Messer" aus der Dreigroschenoper. Dort heißt es "Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne".
In der gängigen englischen Übersetzung des Songs heißt es dann "Oh, the shark has pretty teeth dear".



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 Min. (2008-06-04 08:56:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Die Bedeutung wird deutlich, wenn man die erste Strophe liest:

Und der Haifisch, der hat Zähne
Und die trägt er im Gesicht
Und Macheath, der hat ein Messer
Doch das Messer sieht man nicht

Oh, the shark has pretty teeth dear
And he shows em, pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath dear
And he keeps it way out of sight

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 Min. (2008-06-04 09:34:38 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Gern geschehen.

Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 05:08
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
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