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Rattenschwanz. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Rattenschwanz, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Rattenschwanz in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Rattenschwanz you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Etymology
Ratte (“rat”) + -n- + Schwanz (“tail”)
Pronunciation
Noun
Rattenschwanz m (strong, genitive Rattenschwanzes, plural Rattenschwänze)
- (literal) rat tail
- (colloquial, figurative, collective) slew (large amount; often of negative consequences)
2008 February 17, Bruno Schoch, “Debatte Kosovo-Unabhängigkeit: Das schlechte Beispiel”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:Auch wirft diese Politik des Fait accompli einen Rattenschwanz von Folgeproblemen auf.- This policy of fait accompli also raises a whole slew of subsequent problems.
2020 October 7, Kolja Rudzio, Jens Tönnesmann, “Home oder Office?”, in Die Zeit, number 42:Aber auch an diesem Gesetz hängt ein ganzer Rattenschwanz von Regelungen, mit denen sich Firmen mitten in der schlimmsten Wirtschaftskrise seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg beschäftigen müssten.- But this law entails a slew of regulations that companies would have to deal with in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Second World War.
- rattail (hairstyle characterized by a long lock of tail-like hair)
Declension
Declension of Rattenschwanz
Further reading