Toward the end of 2012, my German wife and I were cleaning our former apartment in Hannover, Germany, before our dear friend Looney Tunes came for a visit from the States. We wanted the place to look really nice, you know? Not at all like it normally does. I mean, hosting a guest is not a time for honesty regarding your living space; it is a time for false representations and unmitigated lies.
So after we churched the place up real good, it was time to buy groceries. (One cannot hope to entertain cultured guests with a mere half bottle of Chablis and some old KY Jelly. We aren’t savages, for Christ’s sake.) That’s why I decided to head down to the local Netto discount supermarket and buy some eggs. On my way out the door, I called to my wife and announced I would also be purchasing bread, to which she replied:
THE WIFE: “That would be, of course, two flies with one slap.”
*Translated from the German expression, “Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen,” — hitting two flies with one slap — which conveys the same figurative meaning as the English expression, “Killing two birds with one stone.” (One a side note, my wife argues it is, “better to kill flies than birds, you meanie.”)
Oh God, My Wife Is German. 
Deine Frau hat recht, du gemeiner Kerl. 😜
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That shoots a bird out! Such headnodding, so much “yuuuuuuup.” Being mumbled to myself…I can only confirm the legitimacy of this.
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as a a half German(half Irish) I so get this …
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We have the same expression in Swedish!!! It’s better killing flies than birds!
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Works for me. Två flugor i en smäll.
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She’s right. Birds most likely are protected by international treaties (North America, at least), and I have two Persian cats who take care of flies for me.
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we have same saying only about killing two hares with one shot, but of cause flies work just as good if not better. kind of who pities flies?
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LOL that’s awesome. It really is much less cruel to kill flies than birds. :)
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Killing flies does sound less cruel than killing birds. She has a good point there. Maybe an expression involving mosquitoes or salmonella bacteria would be even better
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I have enver enjoyed the English “two birds with one stone” saying, either! I love your blog :)
Coco @ http://hennahorses.blogspot.co.uk
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Hahaha…she got you! ☺
And if you bought beer, wine, cheese, apples and liverwurst beside the eggs and bread it were “seven flies at one blow”.
As the Valiant Little Tailor did in his super-heroic strike.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Valiant_Little_Tailor
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I’ve done exactly the opposite and said the English expression in German before I knew the German one which precipitated laughter and shock. Yeah, I think our version and a bit more idealistic. Who has ever managed to hit a bird with a rock?!
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