den Kürzeren ziehen

German edit

Etymology edit

Literally, "to draw the shorter one".

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /den ˈkʏr.t͡sə.rən ˈt͡siː.ən/
  • (file)

Verb edit

den Kürzeren ziehen (class 2 strong, third-person singular present zieht den Kürzeren, past tense zog den Kürzeren, past participle den Kürzeren gezogen, past subjunctive zöge den Kürzeren, auxiliary haben)

  1. (idiomatic) to draw the short straw; to get the short end of the stick
    1. (literally) to be chosen by drawing the shorter straw (stick, match) in drawing straws
      Synonyms: das kürzere Stöckchen ziehen, das kürzere Streichholz ziehen
    2. (figuratively, only this form) to lose; to be defeated; to have a disadvantage

Conjugation edit

See also edit