Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum
Ah, was it about Buddenbrooks senior, or Herr Overdieck? I think it might be the latter, where:
... his wife had a new pet name for her husband: 'You good old bell-wether,' she said, and laughed so hard that her cap bobbed up and down. (page 25 of the Penguin.)
Given that a bell-wether is a castrated ram who leads the flock of sheep and has a bell round his neck so you can hear where they are if you can't see them, I'm not sure how he would have felt about that term!
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Thank you, Bookpossum. Now I remember why I'd rather read in the original language if possible.
And...if I were Buddenbrooks sr. I would prefer 'Snuckeltier', that has something of a cuddly teddybear about it, to 'the castrated ram', however sweetly said and meant.
