den Kopf zumachen

German

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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den Kopf zumachen (weak, third-person singular present macht den Kopf zu, past tense machte den Kopf zu, past participle den Kopf zugemacht, auxiliary haben)

  1. to stop worrying, to recess
    Synonyms: den Kopf abschalten, abschalten, die Luken dichtmachen, die Schotten dichtmachen
  2. (vulgar) to shut up, synonym of den Mund halten

Usage notes

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Either sense seems limited in milieus, not reliably understood by every German. The sense of shutting up is traced to soldiers in the 1930s and GDR youth language in the late 1970s, and in the 2010s it is commonly encountered in the Ruhr Area whereas unused in Eastern Westphalia–Lippe.

Conjugation

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Further reading

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