das geht auf keine Kuhhaut
that's beyond belief; that's outrageous
Origin
From the Middle Ages: it was believed the devil noted sins on parchment made of animal hide; if there were too many, they would not even fit on a large cowhide.
Building blocks
Grammar that uses this word
- Pronoun 'er' (he/it, nominative)Pronomen 'er' (Nominativ)
- Pronoun 'sie' (she/it, singular, nominative)Pronomen 'sie' (Singular, Nominativ)
- Pronoun 'ihr' (you all, informal, nominative)Pronomen 'ihr' (Nominativ)
- Question word 'wie' (how, manner)Fragewort 'wie' (Art und Weise)
- Verb 'haben' (to have), present: ich habe (I have)Verb 'haben' im Präsens: ich habe
- Verb 'haben' (to have), present: er/sie/es hat (he/she/it has)Verb 'haben' im Präsens: er/sie/es hat
Examples
Was er sich da geleistet hat, geht auf keine Kuhhaut.
What he pulled off there is beyond belief.