beim Barte des Propheten

German

Alternative forms

• beim Bart des Propheten

Etymology

Literally, "by the beard of the prophet"; documented since the 18th century. There are two different etymological interpretations:

• The (pre-)Islamic custom of touching the beard while taking a vow is well known from many oriental stories. However, the prophet meant here is not Muhammad, but rather Moses.
• According to Duden, it is unquestionable that the prophet Muhammad is meant here. The custom of touching the beard while taking a vow is not only known from oriental and Islamic literature, but also from German medieval literature.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [baɪ̯m ˌbaʁtə dɛs pʁoˈfeːtn̩]
• Hyphenation: beim Bar‧te des Pro‧phe‧ten

• Audio

  (file)

Phrase

beim Barte des Propheten

1. (idiomatic, informal, humorous) pledge to tell the truth
   • 1999 June 24, “Beim Barte des Propheten”, in Frankfurter Rundschau, page 24:

     Da hat der Kanzlerkandidat Gerhard Schröder beim Barte des Propheten geschworen, die Renten nicht zu kürzen.

     And then the candidate for the position of chancellor Gerhard Schröder had sworn “solemnly” to not cut the [retirement] pensions.

   • 2001 September 18, “Mein Tagebuch”, in Süddeutsche Zeitung, page 12:

     Das muss, beim Barte des Propheten, ganz wundervoll sein!

     That must be, cross my heart, quite wonderful!

   • 2004 October 4, Rüdiger Kind, “Die Teppichflsterer”, in taz.die tageszeitung, page 20:

     Doch wenn, beim Barte des Propheten, die eben noch dem Untergang geweihte Firma nach zwei Monaten am gleichen Ort unter anderem Namen neu ersteht wie Phönix aus dem Wüstensand und ihre ornamentreichen Knotenwunder jetzt zu noch unglaublicheren Hammerpreisen annonciert, dann kann auch der treueste Anhänger orientalischer Märchenerzähler ins Grübeln kommen.

     But as, cross my heart, the company only just doomed [to go bankrupt] is newly setting up after two months at the same place under a different name like a phoenix from the desert′s sands and is advertising its ornament-rich knot wonders [i.e. carpets] now at even more incredible killer prices, than even the most loyal fan of oriental storytellers will begin to brood.

Usage notes

English equivalents strongly depend on the context and can reach far from “solemnly” – in quotation marks to indicate the jocularity – all the way to cross my heart.

References

• Heinz Küpper: Illustriertes Lexikon der deutschen Umgangssprache in 8 Bänden. 1. volume: A–Blatt, Klett, Stuttgart 1982, →ISBN, headword “Bart”, p. 299.
• Heinz Küpper: Wörterbuch der deutschen Umgangssprache. In: Digitale Bibliothek. Volume 36, 1st edition, Directmedia Publishing, Berlin 2006, →ISBN, headword “Bart” (CD-ROM-edition).
• Dudenredaktion (ed.): Duden, Redewendungen: Wörterbuch der deutschen Idiomatik. In: Der Duden in zwölf Bänden. Volume 11, 4th, revised and updated edition, Dudenverlag, Berlin/Mannheim/Zürich 2013, →ISBN, headword “Bart”, p. 91.