Zusammengesetzte Wörter:
or | OR | o.r. |
| all-or-nothing adj | (no compromise) | Alles-oder-nichts- Präf |
| | | alles oder nichts Rdw |
| | (Handlung) | ganz oder gar nicht Rdw |
| and/or conj | informal (either or both) | und/oder Konj |
| believe it or not expr | (though it may seem incredible) | ob du es glaubst oder nicht |
| | Believe it or not, I just won the jackpot in the state lottery! |
| by hook or by crook adv | figurative (by any means necessary) | mit allen Mitteln Rdw |
| | | ohne Rücksicht auf Verluste Rdw |
| come hell or high water adv | (whatever the difficulties) | komme was wolle Rdw |
| | | egal was kommt Rdw |
| | Come hell or high water, I am going to finish this marathon. |
| come rain or shine adv | (whatever the weather) | ob Regen oder Sonnenschein Rdw |
| | | bei jedem Wetter Rdw |
| | | egal wie das Wetter ist Rdw |
| | Come rain or shine, we are going to the beach tomorrow! |
| come rain or shine adv | (whatever happens) | mag kommen was will Rdw |
| | | ganz gleich was geschehen mag Rdw |
| | Come rain or shine, I will never abandon you. |
| do or die expr | figurative (critical situation) | um die Wurst gehen Rdw |
| | | ums Ganze gehen Rdw |
| | | um Leben oder Tod gehen Rdw |
| | It's do or die for our team today. |
| do-or-die adj | figurative (situation: critical) | um die Wurst gehen Rdw |
| | | ums Ganze gehen Rdw |
| | | um Leben oder Tod gehen Rdw |
| | Tomorrow's game is a do-or-die situation for the struggling team. |
double or quits,
also UK: double or nothing n | (gambling: type of bet) | Alles oder nichts Rdw |
double-or-quits,
also UK: double-or-nothing n as adj | (bet: risk is double) | Alles oder nichts Rdw |
| | I won $100 in a double-or-nothing bet. |
| either [...] or conj | (one or another) | entweder Konj |
| | Either you love me or you don't! |
| | Entweder du liebst mich, oder du liebst mich nicht. |
either/or,
either-or adj | informal (with two choices) | entweder oder Konj + Konj |
| | The issue often is presented as an either/or proposition: either you eagerly accept all technology, or you are behind the times. |
| feel strongly one way or the other v expr | (have a passionate opinion) | von [etw] überzeugt sein VP |
| | | stark der Meinung sein, dass VP |
| | | sehr davon ausgehen, dass VP |
| Anmerkung: Used in negative sentences, in questions, or where there is doubt. |
| fight or flight n | (instinctive response) | Kampf oder Flucht Rdw |
| | (Anglizismus, Fachbegriff) | Fight or Flight Rdw |
| fight-or-flight n as adj | (denoting instinctive response) | Kampf- oder Flucht- Rdw |
| | (Anglizismus) | Fight or Flight- Rdw |
| for better or for worse adv | (whatever the consequences) (ugs) | was auch immer geschieht Rdw |
| | (liter) | auf Gedeih und Verderb Rdw |
| | I will be your wife for better or for worse. |
| garden-variety adj | US, figurative (common, unexceptional) | nichts besonderes Adv + Adj |
| | | durchschnittlich Adj |
| | | gewöhnlich Adj |
| give or take [sth] expr | informal (plus or minus) | plus-minus Rdw |
| | I've been away from home for three months, give or take a few days. |
| give or take expr | informal (more or less) | ungefähr Adv |
| | My new car cost $9000, give or take. |
| heads or tails n | (tossing coin to make decision) | Kopf oder Zahl Rdw |
| | The players used heads or tails to decide who would go first. |
hit and miss,
hit-and-miss,
hit or miss,
hit-or-miss adj | (unpredictable, unreliable) | unbeständig Adj |
| | (übertragen) | launenhaft Adj |
| | | unvorhersehbar Adj |
| | | unberechenbar Adj |
| | The weather is very hit and miss for July - rain one day, sunshine the next. |
hors d'oeuvre,
plural: same or hors d'oeuvres n | French (food: appetizer) (ugs) | Häppchen Npl |
| | | Vorspeise Nf |
| | | Hors d'œuvre Nn |
| | If you fill up on hors d'oeuvres, you will have no room left for dinner |
| know a thing or two v expr | informal (be experienced in [sth]) | ein, zwei Sachen wissen Rdw |
| | | sich gut mit etwas auskennen Rdw |
| | | viel Erfahrung haben Rdw |
| | After 20 years on the job, he knows a thing or two about construction. |
| learn a thing or two v expr | informal (become knowledgeable) | etwas lernen können Rdw |
| | | sich etwas abgucken können Rdw |
| | | das eine oder andere lernen Rdw |
| | Stick around and watch; you may learn a thing or two. |
| life-or-death n as adj | (with death as possible result) | lebensbedrohlich Adj |
| | | tödlich Adj |
| | | fatal Adj |
| life-or-death n as adj | figurative (extremely important) (übertragen) | um Leben und Tod Rdw |
| | | sehr wichtig, äußerst wichtig Adv + Adj |
make heads or tails of [sth] (US),
make head or tail of [sth],
make head nor tail of [sth] (UK) v expr | (understand [sth]) (ugs) | etwas kapieren Vt |
| | | etwas verstehen Vt |
| | (Slang) | etwas raffen Vt |
| Anmerkung: Usually in the negative. |
| make or break [sth] v expr | informal (cause success, failure) | mit etwas steht oder fällt alles Rdw |
| | | über die Zukunft entscheiden Rdw |
| | That critic's reviews can make or break a new restaurant. |
| make-or-break adj | informal (success or failure) | alles oder nichts Rdw |
| | (übertragen) | um die Wurst gehen Rdw |
| | It is make-or-break time for the store after two years of declining sales. |
a matter of life and death,
a matter of life or death,
a life-or-death matter n | (issue of vital importance) | um Leben und Tod gehen Rdw |
| | Getting out of a burning house fast is a matter of life and death. |
| more or less adv | (to a greater or lesser extent) | mehr oder weniger Rdw |
| | I have more or less decided to delay going to college for a year. |
| | Ich habe mich mehr oder weniger dazu entschlossen ein Jahr später an die Uni zu gehen. |
no ifs,
ands,
or buts expr | informal (no excuses are permitted) | keine Widerrede Pron + Nf |
| | | ohne wenn und aber Rdw |
| | I need you to finish that report today, no ifs, ands, or buts. |
| now or never expr | (final chance) | letzte Chance Adj + Nf |
| | | jetzt oder nie Rdw |
| | You have to decide, it's now or never if you want to go to the concert. |
| one hundred or so adj | informal (about a hundred) | so um die hundert Rdw |
| | | in etwa hundert Rdw |
| | It's a middle-sized plane, with one hundred or so seats. |
| one or the other expr | (either one of a pair) | der eine oder der andere Rdw |
| | | die eine oder die andere Rdw |
| | | das eine oder das andere Rdw |
| one way or another expr | (by whatever means, somehow) | so oder so Rdw |
| | | irgendwie Adv |
| | | auf irgendeine Weise Rdw |
| | One way or another, I will find the money to come and visit you. |
| or else adv | (otherwise, if not) | oder Konj |
| | | oder aber Konj + Adv |
| | | ansonsten, sonst Adv |
| | Choose ham and eggs, or else ham and cheese. |
| | Du hast die Wahl zwischen Schinken und Eier oder Schinken und Käse. |
| or else interj | informal (expressing a threat) | sonst Gnade dir Gott Int |
| | | sonst gibt es was Int |
| | You will do as I say, or else! |
| | Du wirst das tun, was ich sage, sonst Gnade dir Gott! |
| or nearest offer expr | UK (price is negotiable) | verhandelbar Adj |
| or rather adv | (to be more accurate) | oder eher Konj + Adv |
| | | besser gesagt Adj + V Part Perf |
| | I love reading; or rather, I love buying books. |
| or so adv | (approximately) (ugs) | oder so Konj + Adv |
| | | ungefähr Adv |
| | | in etwa Präp + Adv |
| | The container could hold a litre or so of water. |
| | In den Behälter passt ein Liter Wasser oder so. |
| or other pron | (distinct person or thing) (Person) | jemand anderes Pron |
| | (Objekt) | etwas anderes Pron |
| | Some person or other must have left this phone behind. |
| rain or shine adv | (whatever the weather) | ob Regen oder Sonnenschein Rdw |
| | | ganz gleich ob es regnet oder schneit Rdw |
| | | bei Regen und bei Sonnenschein Rdw |
| | The marathon run will take place rain or shine, although it will be postponed if there's lightning. |
| sink or swim v expr | figurative (fail or succeed) | friss oder stirb Rdw |
| | It's sink or swim with this final exam. |
| somehow or other adv | (in an undetermined way) | irgendwie Adv |
| | | auf irgendeine Art und Weise Rdw |
| | Jan studied the cliff face, determined to scale it somehow or other. |
| sooner or later adv | (at some time in the future) | früher oder später Rdw |
| | | irgendwann Adv |
| | Keep up your life of crime and sooner or later you'll end up in prison! |
trick or treat,
trick-or-treat n | (Halloween tradition) | Süßes oder Saures Rdw |
| | Trick or treat's the only thing I like about Hallowe'en. |
| | Süßes oder Saures ist das einzige, was ich an Halloween mag. |
| Trick or treat! interj | (at Halloween) | Süßes sonst gibt's Saures Int |
| | The kids knocked on the door and shouted: "Trick or treat!" |
| | Die Kinder klopften an der Tür und riefen: "Süßes, sonst gibt's Saures!" |
| trick-or-treating n | (Halloween custom: going door to door) | Süßes sonst gibts Saures Rdw |
| | | Spiel von Kindern an Halloween Rdw |
| | Last year, I took my brother trick-or-treating. |
| truth or dare n | (question-and-answer game) | Wahrheit oder Pflicht Rdw |
| use it or lose it expr | informal (utilize while you still can) | nutze es, solange du kannst Int |
| | | wenn's weg ist, ist es weg Int |
| whether ... or ... conj | (regardless of which) | egal ob ... oder Rdw |
| | Anyone, whether rich or poor, can be affected by a natural disaster. |
| | Jeder, egal ob reich oder arm, kann von einer Naturkatastrophe betroffen sein. |
| whether ... or ... conj | (if it is [sth] or [sth]) | ganz gleich, ob ... oder Rdw |
| | | egal ob ... oder Rdw |
| | Whether as a result of laziness or disinclination, the housework had clearly not been done for some time. |
whether or not,
whether or no conj | (no matter if, even if) | egal ob Adj + Konj |
| | | ganz gleich ob Rdw |
| | We'll go to the game whether or not it rains (or: whether it rains or not). |
| | Wir gehen zu dem Spiel, egal ob es regnet oder nicht. |
| without rhyme or reason adv | (inexplicably) | ohne Grund Präp + Nm |
| | | grundlos Adj |
| | He yells at me without rhyme or reason, and I just can't understand why. |
| without rhyme or reason expr | (inexplicable) | unbegründet V Part Perf |
| | | ohne Hand und Fuß Rdw |
| | Your belief that Daisy doesn't like you is without rhyme or reason; she's never done anything to make you think that. |