Freunde in der Not gehen hundert auf ein Lot
German
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editLiterally, “friends in need are a hundred in a lot”, meaning that a friend in need weighs 1% of a Lot (English “lot”), which is a historic measure of weight equivalent to half an ounce. One could thus loosely translate: “Friends in need are weighed in milligrams.” There are two explanations: either that one’s friends become “lightweight”, i.e. unreliable, when one is in need – or, less likely, that true friends in need are so rare that they have to be weighed in infinitesimal quantities.