German food idioms: beer, sausage and butter

Sausage, beer and butter are everywhere in German food, and in German speech too. This page covers six idioms from the kitchen and the table. Each entry gives the literal translation, the meaning, an English equivalent and an example. To learn the food habits behind them, see Kaffee und Kuchen.

These are informal. Use them with friends and colleagues, not in formal letters.

Quick reference

Das ist nicht mein Bier

Literal: "That is not my beer."
Meaning: It is not my problem or my responsibility.
English equivalent: That is not my business. Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Example: Die Planung ist nicht mein Bier, ich kümmere mich nur um den Einkauf. (Planning is not my job, I only handle purchasing.)

Alles in Butter

Literal: "Everything in butter."
Meaning: Everything is fine and nothing is wrong. The phrase may come from the idea that food packed in butter stayed fresh and safe.
English equivalent: Everything is hunky-dory. All is well.
Example: Keine Sorge, bei uns ist alles in Butter. (Do not worry, everything is fine with us.)

Es geht um die Wurst

Literal: "It is about the sausage."
Meaning: The decisive moment has come, and something important is at stake. It is thought to come from a game in which a sausage was the prize.
English equivalent: It is crunch time. It is all on the line.
Example: Im Finale geht es um die Wurst. (The final is the moment of truth.)

Eine Extrawurst bekommen

Literal: "To get an extra sausage."
Meaning: To get special treatment that others do not get. It is often used as a complaint.
English equivalent: To get special treatment.
Example: Warum bekommt er immer eine Extrawurst? (Why does he always get special treatment?)

Das ist mir Wurst

Literal: "That is sausage to me."
Meaning: I do not care either way. In Austria and southern Germany you also hear wurscht.
English equivalent: I do not care. It makes no difference to me.
Example: Pizza oder Pasta? Das ist mir Wurst. (Pizza or pasta? I do not mind.)

Jemandem Honig um den Bart schmieren

Literal: "To smear honey around someone's beard."
Meaning: To flatter someone, usually to get something.
English equivalent: To butter someone up.
Example: Er schmiert dem Chef Honig um den Bart, weil er frei haben will. (He is buttering up the boss because he wants time off.)

Using these well

Keep the nouns. The sausage in Es geht um die Wurst is part of the image, so do not swap it for Käse.
Mind the case. Both Jemandem Honig um den Bart schmieren and mir Wurst use the dative. See the four cases.
Do not mix Wurst idioms. Das ist mir Wurst (I do not care) is very different from Es geht um die Wurst (it matters a lot).