Air number

An air number is originally an acrobatic performance that is performed in the air (e.g. a trapeze act ).

Colloquially, the air number is also used in a figurative sense: as a name for an unrealistic, untrue or unimportant claim (the phrase hot air is also used for this) or - more often - as a name for a dubious, insubstantial or inconclusive project or company.

The transferred meanings (such as "flogging", "sleight of hand" or "failed action") came about under the influence of the accounting term air booking .

Web links

Wiktionary: Luftnummer - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Duden online: Air number
↑ Example: Esther Schweins climbs on the trapeze for an air number welt.de, November 27, 2002.
↑ Example: Million-Storm only air number criticism of the storm of RB Leipzig on bild.de, March 25, 2015.
↑ Rolf-Bernhard Essig: I'm not your Leo ... deutschlandradiokultur.de, September 19, 2008.
↑ Cf. Die Große Luftnummer zeit.de, December 3, 2014. In this text, Luftnummer is used in the heading , followed by several air bookings in the same sense .

[Duden-1] Duden online: Air number

[2] Example: Esther Schweins climbs on the trapeze for an air number welt.de, November 27, 2002.

[3] Example: Million-Storm only air number criticism of the storm of RB Leipzig on bild.de, March 25, 2015.

[4] Rolf-Bernhard Essig: I'm not your Leo ... deutschlandradiokultur.de, September 19, 2008.

[5] Cf. Die Große Luftnummer zeit.de, December 3, 2014. In this text, Luftnummer is used in the heading , followed by several air bookings in the same sense .