der blaue Brief
an official warning letter - esp. a school notice of failing grades, or a dismissal notice
Origin
The expression dates back to the 19th century: official letters - such as Prussian cabinet orders or discharge papers - were sent in stiff blue envelope paper (said to be made from scraps of blue uniform cloth). Today it mainly denotes the warning letter sent when a pupil is at risk of not being moved up a grade.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Regular comparative (-er + als 'than')Komparativ regelmäßig (-er + als)
- Two-part connector 'entweder … oder' (either … or)Zweiteiliger Konnektor 'entweder … oder'
- Indefinite article 'ein' (a/an, masculine, nominative)Unbestimmter Artikel 'ein' (maskulin, Nominativ)
- Definite article 'den' (the, masculine, accusative)Bestimmter Artikel 'den' (maskulin, Akkusativ)
- Indefinite article 'einen' (a/an, masculine, accusative)Unbestimmter Artikel 'einen' (maskulin, Akkusativ)
- Question word 'wer' (who, person)Fragewort 'wer' (Person)
Examples
Wenn sich seine Noten nicht bessern, bekommt er einen blauen .
If his grades don't improve, he'll soon get a warning letter from school.