2. dumm wie Bohnenstroh
“Dumm wie Bohnenstroh” literally translates to “dumb as bean straw.” So if somebody calls you just that, you should probably not be all too happy about it. But why is bean straw dumb?
I guess this is the main question we need to figure out, right? The German saying “as dumb as bean straw” originates from the time when people equipped their beds with straw sacks or mattresses filled with straw.
Very poor people could not afford crop straw and therefore resorted to the cheaper bean straw.
Okay, great. But why does this make these people dumb?
It is believed that poor people were sometimes automatically considered to be dumb(er) because they had lesser education and therefore, also a lack of intelligence.
Example:
A: Ich glaube die Prüfung von morgen wird ziemlich einfach. Ich mache mir darüber absolut keine Gedanken.
B: Ja, ich glaube auch. Das sollte für uns kein Problem sein. Aber für Stefan wirds wohl schwierig. Der Typ ist echt dumm wie Bohnenstroh!
Translation: A: I think tomorrow’s exam will be pretty easy. I don’t worry about it at all. B: Yes, I think so too. That shouldn’t be a problem for us. But for Stefan, it will probably be difficult. The guy is really dumb as a post!
