seine Schäfchen ins Trockene bringen
to secure one's own profit/advantage (often before things go bad)
Origin
The origin is disputed; attested since 1576, the phrase is usually read agriculturally: sheep on wet pastures were prone to disease, so the farmer brought his 'little sheep onto dry ground'. A less accepted reading derives 'Schäfchen' from Low German 'Schepken' (little ship).
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Regular verbs: er/sie/es-form (stem + -t)Regelmäßige Verben: er/sie/es-Form (Stamm + -t)
- Irregular verbs: e → i (essen, geben, sprechen)Unregelmäßige Verben: e → i (essen, geben, sprechen)
- Possessive articles in the dativePossessivartikel im Dativ
- Simple past 'wollte' (wanted to, from wollen)Präteritum 'wollte' (wollen)
- Pronoun 'ich' (I, nominative)Pronomen 'ich' (Nominativ)
- Pronoun 'er' (he/it, nominative)Pronomen 'er' (Nominativ)
Examples
Bevor die pleiteging, hatte der seine Schäfchen Trockene gebracht.
Before the company went bankrupt, the boss had long since feathered his own nest.