Quatsch mit Soße

/ˈkvat͡ʃ mɪt ˌzoːsə/ lit. ‘nonsense with sauce’

German idiom, colloquial. To talk nonsense or tell tall stories.

Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.

How do people use Quatsch mit Soße?

Colloquial and a little cheeky, used to brush off something someone just said: “Das ist doch Quatsch mit Soße!” It also stands alone as an exclamation. It’s a noun phrase, so you say something “is” Quatsch mit Soße or someone “redet” it.

Also said Quatsch mit Sauce, Quark mit Soße

Quatsch mit Soße in real sentences

  • Was du da erzählst, ist doch Quatsch mit Soße!

    You’re talking cobblers!

    Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by sundown, CC BY 2.0 FR

  • Das ist doch Quatsch mit Soße!

    That’s complete nonsense!

    Tatoeba, sentence by Zaghawa, CC BY 2.0 FR

Where does Quatsch mit Soße come from?

Sources disagree on its age: Küpper’s dictionary of colloquial German dates it to the late 19th century, while Müller’s Lexikon der Redensarten says the 20th. Küpper suggests it mimics a menu line like “Pudding mit Tunke”, or that the sauce is mustard, which adds flavor but no substance; Müller reads “mit Soße” as a joking “on top of everything”. German Wiktionary collects all three theories without picking one.

Mistakes learners make with Quatsch mit Soße

Spelling it “Quatsch mit Sosse” in Germany: the double s is the Swiss and Liechtenstein spelling. In Germany it’s “Soße” (or “Sauce”).

Other German idioms like Quatsch mit Soße

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