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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish expression of the day: Spænder ben

Have you ever (figuratively) stumbled around trying to find the right turn of phrase in Danish? Today's expression of the day could be just the thing for you.

What is spænder ben?

The verb at spænde means to stretch something to its full length, making it tense, perhaps by fixing it to two points (it should not be confused with the noun et spænde, meaning a clip which holds things together).

It can also have the figurative meaning of squeezing as much use or potential out of something as possible, as in han spændte ugens madbudget så effektivt, at han først skulle handle igen ni dage senere (“he stretched that week’s food budget so efficiently that he didn’t need to shop again for nine days”).

Ben is the Danish word for “leg” (and does not change between singular and plural form), so to spænde ben is literally to stretch a leg. 

Why do I need to know spænder ben?

A more accurate translation of at spænde ben would be to “stick a leg out”, with the implicit intention of tripping someone up. 

The phrase is not just used to describe juvenile practical jokes though, and also has a figurative use meaning to present an obstacle or difficulty in the way of what you or someone else may be trying to achieve.

As such, Denmark has an equivalent phrase for trying to trip someone up, but an object or situation can also “stick a leg out”, something that wouldn’t make sense in the English language usage of the phrase.

You can even spænde ben for yourself by hindering your overall progress through your actions, conjuring up images of contorted limbs as you try to get one of your legs in the way of the rest of your body.

Examples

Du spænder kun ben for dig selv, hvis du ikke finder et relevant praktikforløb under din uddannelse.

You’re just holding yourself back if you don’t find a relevant work placement during your studies.

EU regler spænder ben for regeringens ønske om at indføre et forbud mod at sælge cigaretter.

EU rules are providing an obstacle to the government’s plan to introduce a ban on selling cigarettes.

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DANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Danish word of the day: Kværn

This unassuming little word pops up surprisingly often in Danish, so it's a very good one to have in your vocabulary.

Danish word of the day: Kværn

What is kværn?

Kværn is a noun meaning “mill” or “grinder”, used to refer to any kind of tool or machine that breaks a substance down into smaller pieces.

kværn can be small, for example a peberkværn (pepper mill) or kaffekværn (coffee grinder).

There’s some overlap between kværn and mølle, the Danish word for “mill”. In the past, mølle might have been used to refer to household items like the coffee grinder. It’s now become the reserve of larger pieces of machinery like windmills (vindmølle), but there is stills a bit of interchangeability in Swedish, a sister tongue of Danish.

If you’re in Skåne – the Swedish province closet to Denmark — the word for “mill” in the local dialect is not kvarn but mölla.

Why do I need to know kværn?

The above describes how to use kværn as a noun, but it’s also a verb, at kværne, meaning “to grind” or “to mill”.

Apart from everyday uses like jeg kværner kaffebønnerne (”I’ll grind some coffee beans”), you won’t hear it too often in its literal sense, but it has a lot of figurative meanings too.

For example jeg var så sulten, at jeg kværnede maden uden at sige et ord means ”I was so hungry I gobbled down (literally ’crushed’ or ’ground’) the food without saying a word”.

This can also apply to drinking: han sad og kværnede bajere hele aftenen (“he sat there downing beers all evening”).

It can also be used to describe working very hard, as in jeg skal bare kværne, indtil projektet er færdig (“I have to keep grafting until the project is finished”).

Finally if someone kværner bare løs, it probably means they are talking non-stop.

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