why would the germans say "give them beans" in world war 1?

  • Thread starter Thread starter KerryK
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KerryK

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it was a battle quote they would use in the trenches. Where did the saying come from?
 
Maybe they thought that if they ate beans they would have to spend all their time in the loo, and no time to fight, haha

But it could also mean 'pepper them with pellets' ;)

*..*
 
That's easy if you speak German. "Blaue Bohnen" is German slang for handgun ammunition. Translated into English "Blaue Bohnen" will be "blue beans".
A bullet from a rifle was made of lead, therefore it was blue. And with some fantasy it looks like a bean. So "Give them beans" was just another way to say "shoot them".
 
That's easy if you speak German. "Blaue Bohnen" is German slang for handgun ammunition. Translated into English "Blaue Bohnen" will be "blue beans".
A bullet from a rifle was made of lead, therefore it was blue. And with some fantasy it looks like a bean. So "Give them beans" was just another way to say "shoot them".
 
That's easy if you speak German. "Blaue Bohnen" is German slang for handgun ammunition. Translated into English "Blaue Bohnen" will be "blue beans".
A bullet from a rifle was made of lead, therefore it was blue. And with some fantasy it looks like a bean. So "Give them beans" was just another way to say "shoot them".
 
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