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Definition 2024

Bärendienst

Bärendienst

German

Noun

Bärendienst m ‎(genitive Bärendienstes, plural Bärendienste)

  1. disservice; mistaken favour (something that is done with the intention to help, but turns out to be detrimental)
    Indem er die öffentliche Unterstützung mehrerer einflussreicher Wirtschaftsführer gewann, leistete der sozialistische Spitzenkandidat seiner Partei einen Bärendienst.
    By winning the public support of several influential business leaders, the socialist top candidate rendered his party a disservice.

Declension

Etymology

Bär ‎(“bear”) +‎ Dienst ‎(“service”). Compare Swedish björntjänst and similar forms in other languages. From the French fable L’Ours et l’Amateur des jardins by Jean de La Fontaine, in which a tame bear wants to do his master a favour by hitting a fly that has sat down on the master's forehead, but hits it so hard that both the fly and the master are killed.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛːʁənˌdiːnst/, [ˈbɛː.ʁənˌdiːnst], [ˈbɛː.ɐn-] (standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
  • IPA(key): /ˈbeːʁən-/ (overall more common, particularly northern and eastern regions)

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