jemandem auf den Wecker gehen
to get on someone's nerves; to bug someone
Origin
Origin uncertain; one reading derives "Wecker" from Yiddish "weochar" (he upsets me), another from the image of the mind as clockwork. Became common in the first half of the 20th c.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Separable prefix 'auf-' (aufstehen, to get up)Trennbares Präfix 'auf-' (aufstehen)
- Subordinate clause with 'wenn' (if/when, temporal/conditional)Nebensatz mit 'wenn' (temporal/konditional)
- Temporal clause with 'wenn' (repeated / present / future)Temporalsatz mit 'wenn'
- Purpose clause with 'damit' (different subjects)Finalsatz mit 'damit'
- Pronoun 'wir' (we, nominative)Pronomen 'wir' (Nominativ)
- Pronoun 'sie' (they, plural, nominative)Pronomen 'sie' (Plural, Nominativ)
Examples
Sein lautes Telefonieren geht auf den .
His loud phone calls are starting to bug me.