# sitting pretty



## Xander2024

Hallo an alle,

Könnte mir jemand sagen, wie der Deutsche Gegenwert des Englischen Ausdrucks "sitting pretty" wäre? 
("sitting pretty" bedeutet "well placed or established financially, socially etc")

I habe nur "gut untergebracht sein" gefunden. Aber ich bin nicht sicher, ob es gut passt.

Vielen Dank im voraus.

PS Bitte, korrigiert meine Fehler.


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## Kurtchen

_wohlsituiert, etabliert, abgesichert_, _arriviert_


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## Xander2024

Danke, Kurtchen.


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## ABBA Stanza

Xander2024 said:


> ("sitting pretty" bedeutet "well placed or established financially, socially etc")


This is just a specific example. In general, "sitting pretty" means to be enjoying being in a favourable position, free from the problems and troubles that others are having to face.

For example, a school pupil who has taken (and passed) his or her examinations early, and therefore doesn't have to face the stress and the pressure this time around like the others, may also be described as "sitting pretty".

In my opinion, a good German translation of the English idiom "sitting pretty" would in many cases be _"fein (he)raus sein"_.

Cheers,
Abba


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## Xander2024

Thanks a lot, ABBA Stanza.
And what about "gut untergebracht sein"? Would it work here?


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## Robocop

ABBA Stanza said:


> In my opinion, a good German translation of the English idiom "sitting pretty" would in many cases be _"fein (he)raus sein"_.


I am doubtful about your assumption. "Fein "(he)raus sein" refers to being out of a dilemma. The need to choose between two unpleasant options has been eliminated by favourable developments (the person has not contributed to the developments).


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## Xander2024

OK, Robocop, but what would you suggest?

Thank you.


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## ABBA Stanza

Robocop said:


> "Fein "(he)raus sein" refers to being out of a dilemma. The need to choose between two unpleasant options has been eliminated by favourable developments (the person has not contributed to the developments).


This seems to be quite a restrictive definition. Neither of my two dictionaries (Wahrig and Duden) mention anything about it having to be a dilemma. Also, I'm not even totally convinced about the "the person has not contributed to the developments" bit. Sure, this will apply in many - perhaps even most - cases, but is it an absolute necessity? Again, the dictionaries I have don't mention it.

By the way, I'm not the first person to think of this translation. For example, see here.

Cheers,
Abba


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## dec-sev

ABBA Stanza said:


> This is just a specific example. In general, "sitting pretty" means to be enjoying being in a favourable position, free from the problems and troubles that others are having to face.


That supports what your are saying:

_My uncle died and left enough money for me to be sitting pretty for the rest of my life.
 Now that I have a good-paying job, I'm sitting pretty._
source

My quesiton is if "sitting pretty" is neutral or if it may sound ironical or even spöttisch. Entschuldigung, aber das englische Wort dafür ist mit momentan entfallen. 
Also, verändern wir den letzte Satz zu "Now he has a good-paying job, he is sitting pretty". Can the sentence imply that the man has got this job due to no merit of his or he may be doing pretty little for the money he gets enjoing the current situation? I mean if someone thinks so, can they say "Now he has a good-paying job, he is sitting pretty"?


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## Xander2024

No, there may not be any irony in "sitting pretty". Just a statement of fact:

"It was some knockover! We'll be sitting pretty now".

Aber ich möchte wissen, ob es im Deutschen einen Gegenwert gibt.

Danke.


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## dec-sev

If "sitting pretty" is completely neutral in Englsh you suggestion ("gut untergebracht sein") may be right:

Seine Frau Anna hatte damals nuhr noch vier Monate zu Leben. In dieser kurzen Zeit bestellte diese tapfere Frau ihr Haus. Sie sorgte dafür, daß ihre beiden Töchter gut untergebracht wurden (mit Hilfe von Hulda Garborg) und verkaufte das Unternehmen "Heimen" sehr günstig an den Bauernjugendverein (der es heute noch besitzt).
Quelle.


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## Xander2024

Aber (wie ich im Beitrag 1 gesagt habe) ich bin nicht sicher ob "gut untergebracht sein" den Begriff "well established financially" erfasst. As far as I know "gut untergebracht sein" only has to do with good accommodation.


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## dec-sev

Well, I'm not sure, but in this context I would translate "gut untergebracht" as "...she made sure that her two daughter were well looked after".


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## Kurtchen

Xander2024 said:


> No, there may not be any irony in "sitting pretty". Just a statement of fact:
> 
> "It was some knockover! We'll be sitting pretty now".
> 
> Aber ich möchte wissen, ob es im Deutschen einen Gegenwert gibt.
> 
> Danke.



There are many _Entsprechungen _in varying *context*s, eg for a successful bank robbery 


ABBA Stanza said:


> _"fein (he)raus sein"_.


may very well be appropriate, whereas _finanziell gut dastehen _would be considered cynical, therefore less applicable.  The upshot is that with these figurative turns of phrases most of the time you are going to run into difficulties when trying to translate them without sufficient *context*, of which you provided precious little.


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## Xander2024

OK, speaking of a context: for example, a friend of mine invites me to go to live and work in Moscow. And I say, " Why should I? I've got a good flat and a good job here and I earn quite a lot of money without having to break my back. In a word, I'm sitting pretty." 
Now that I come to think of it, maybe "wohlsituiert" from post #2 would be the best choice?


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## Kurtchen

That sounds rather too formal. Incidentally, if it is stable finances we are talking about, there are some neat idioms like _seine Schäfchen im Trockenen haben_, _aus dem Schneider sein_ etc = to have it made, to have had one's ship come in - all basically meaning that one has overcome pecuniary dearth and is able to afford a comfortable lifestyle.


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## Xander2024

"Aus dem Schneider sein" - doesn't it mean "to get out of a difficulty"? 
Yes, "to have it made" is very close. Don't you have something similar in German?

Danke.


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## Kurtchen

Well, I would consider lack of funds a difficult situation, but you may differ of course. 
As for 'to have it made'_ - es 'geschafft' haben, Erfolg haben_ ? 
No idea what you are looking for specifically. You have been given plenty of examples already in this thread, there has got to be something suitable among them


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## Xander2024

Ja, Kurtchen, danke. I'll proceed on my own


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## Kurtchen

Just thought of something, _ausgesorgt haben_ is probably very close, especially if it is long-term. 

_Nach dem Lottogewinn hatte sie für den Rest ihres Lebens ausgesorgt._


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## Xander2024

Vielen Dank für die Hilfe, Kurtchen.


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## dec-sev

Xander2024 said:


> , " Why should I? I've got a good flat and a good job here and I earn quite a lot of money without having to break my back. In a word, I'm sitting pretty."





Kurtchen said:


> Well, I would consider lack of funds a difficult situation, but you may differ of course.
> As for 'to have it made'_ - es 'geschafft' haben, Erfolg haben_ ?





Kurtchen said:


> That sounds rather too formal. Incidentally, if it is stable finances we are talking about, there are some neat idioms like _seine Schäfchen im Trockenen haben_, _aus dem Schneider sein_ etc = to have it made, to have had one's ship come in - all basically meaning that one has overcome pecuniary dearth and is able to afford a comfortable lifestyle


 I can't understand how a "difficult situation and overcoming" aspect came into the discussion  

_My uncle died and left enough money for me to be sitting pretty for the rest of my life._

Die Beispiele machen keinen Eindruck, dass die Person irgendeine Schwierigkeiten erlebt hat oder Anstrengungen machen musste um jetzt „sitting pretty“ zu können.



> " Why should I? I've got a good flat and a good job here and I earn quite a lot of moneywithout having to break my back. In a word, I'm sitting pretty."


 _Warum denn? Ohnehin geht’s mir super. Ich habe eine gute Stelle, Wohnung…_
Wäre es nicht Dasselbe?


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## ABBA Stanza

Hi dec-sev,



dec-sev said:


> I can't understand how a "difficult situation and overcoming" aspect came into the discussion


Maybe "_avoiding_ a difficult situation" would fit better. I agree with you that "overcoming" suggests work on behalf of the person concerned (which is not always involved, as in your example).

The "difficult situation" is something the others (i.e., those who are not "sitting pretty") are facing. It may be that the person who is sitting pretty was also previously in this difficult situation. However, this is not necessarily the case.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers,
Abba


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