Trick 17

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Trick 17 is used in parlance to describe a solution to problems. On the one hand, it refers to solutions that are original or unusual. However, such a solution can only be called trick 17 if it is successful , since a trick 17 must always and immediately work immediately. On the other hand, trick 17 also refers to solutions that are obvious and obvious. The ironic phrase "Trick 17 with self-tricking" describes a mocking commentary on a (mostly supposedly sophisticated) approach that fails in a more or less comical way.

use

In Switzerland, for the very similar expression used trick 77 , in Finland Trick 3 ( kikka Kolmonen ), in France it is called Système D .

According to Heinz Küpper, Illustrated Lexicon of German Colloquial Language (1984), the German idiom did not become common until after 1950. According to Gerhard Müller, head of language counseling at the Society for German Language , their origins have not been clearly identified.

The DEFA feature film Trick 17b also referred to this phrase.

origin

There are different assumptions about the origin of the phrase:

  • In the paperback "Have Fish thirst?" Says the author, citing a linguist of the "Society for the German Language" that the term of the card game whist go back where a stitch with its English word trick is called. As an explanation for the special importance of "Trick 17" in whist it is mentioned that the highest possible number of tricks in this card game is 17.
  • Another assumption is the connection with the sensational algebraic proof by Carl Friedrich Gauß in 1796 that a regular seventeenth- corner can be constructed with a compass and ruler . In 1825 Johannes Erchinger (1788–1829) published practical construction instructions for the regular seventeen-sided in 64 steps.
  • A third assumption links trick 17 with the First World War. At that time France had a Plan XVII ( plan dix-sept ) to defend itself against a German attack over Alsace-Lorraine, which however failed due to the German invasion of Belgium. This plan dix-sept was Germanized as Trick 17 .
  • Sometimes the origin of the term Trick 17 is associated with the fictional magician Carlos Luminoso. According to this, the trick artist is said to have left a book full of magic tricks in which the last pages were missing, on which his trick number seventeen was. This derivation is fictitious.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arte Karambolage: Everyday life: the system D. ( Memento from July 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) On: arte.tv from April 25, 2004.
  2. ^ "Trick 17b", TV feature film, DEFA, 1966 .
  3. ↑ “Are fish thirsty? 111 answers to questions that have always been on your nails. ”Jonas Verlag 2003, p. 21. According to Gerhard Müller, head of language advice at the“ Society for German Language ”, this version is not guaranteed. The explanation of Trick 17 is also no longer included in the new edition of the book published by Piper-Verlag in 2007.
  4. ↑ Trick 17: Origin of the expression not clearly clarified. On: chip.de from September 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ janeden.net