jemandem reinen Wein einschenken
to tell someone the plain truth; to come clean
Origin
Goes back to the Middle Ages, when innkeepers often watered down and adulterated wine; only one who poured genuine, "pure" wine was being honest.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Definite article 'der' (the, masculine, nominative)Bestimmter Artikel 'der' (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)
- Verb 'schmecken' (to taste good, + dative)Verb 'schmecken' (+ Dativ)
Examples
Es wird , dass ich dir reinen einschenke.
It's time I told you the unvarnished truth.