jemandem ein Kuckucksei ins Nest legen

German

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Etymology

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Literally, to lay a cuckoo's egg in someone's nest, referring to the cuckoo's habit of placing it's eggs in the nest of other birds.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈjeːmandəm ʔaɪ̯n ˈkʊkʊksʔaɪ̯ ʔɪns nɛst ˈleːɡn̩]
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Verb

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jemandem ein Kuckucksei ins Nest legen (weak, third-person singular present legt jemandem ein Kuckucksei ins Nest, past tense legte jemandem ein Kuckucksei ins Nest, past participle jemandem ein Kuckucksei ins Nest gelegt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (idiomatic) to hurt someone such in a way that it only becomes apparent later

Conjugation

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