mein Name ist Hase

German

Etymology

In 1854, Heidelberg student Victor von Hase gave his ID to a fellow student so he could flee to France; when the ID was later found, Hase was questioned by the university, and replied: "Mein Name ist Hase, ich verneine die Generalfragen, ich weiß von nichts." "My name is Hase, I say no to the general questions, I know nothing."[1] His categorical denial quickly became popular.[1]

Pronunciation

  • Audio(file)

Phrase

mein Name ist Hase

  1. (idiomatic) I know nothing; I am not involved (literally: my name is Hase)

References

  1. 1 2 Christoph Gutknecht, Von Treppenwitz bis Sauregurkenzeit: Die verrücktesten Wörter im Deutschen (C.H. Beck oHG, München 2008, →ISBN), page 14
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