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German here. A "Verschlimmbesserung" is something that makes one part better and another part worse. If it only makes things worse you don't need a German word
by OroPla 1mo ago
German here. A "Verschlimmbesserung" is something that makes one part better and another part worse. If it only makes things worse you don't need a German word for it, you can just call it worse.
For things that were intended good, but ended up bad, there's an English idiom: the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
- cindyllm 1mo ago[dead]
- renehsz 1mo agoMy understanding is that a Verschlimmbesserung stems from a genuine intent to improve something, even though it ultimately has the opposite effect.
- OroPla 1mo agoI don't remember hearing or using it in this context. It's pretty rare that the goal was to make something worse and if the outcome is only bad, you can just call it bad, right? The word is only needed to communicate that there were good and bad outcomes.
- houl 1mo agoA Verschlimmbesserung of the definition of Verschlimmbesserung.
- alpaca128 1mo agoJust calling it bad does not include the intent of improving it. Verschlimmbesserung does.
- OroPla 1mo agoWhy do you change something if not to make it better, though? Trying to improve things is implicit.
- groestl 1mo agoOf course there's many reasons to make something worse intentionally. Revenge for example.
- croes 1mo agoThe point of Verschlimmbesserung is to show your good intentions to improve something failed. Improvement = Verbesserung Worsening = Verschlimmerung Worsening because you tried to improve = Verschlimmbesserung Ask your local carpenter or plumber how many of their jobs have to do with people trying to fix a damage and make it worse
- 1718627440 1mo agoWorsen it from the perspective of the judge, not from the person doing it.
- Youden 1mo agoNot a German but Duden disagrees with you [0]: "etwas in der Absicht, es zu verbessern, schlechter machen". [0]: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/verschlimmbessern https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/verschlimmbessern
- 1718627440 1mo agoBut you rarely only worsen it in every direction.
- b3orn 1mo agoGerman here, this is the right definition, trying to improve something but ending up making it worse.
- jjtheblunt 1mo agothat's not disagreeing at all (american partial german, partial pole)
- gpvos 1mo agoIt is a different meaning from that in the parent comment by OroPla.
- spacechild1 1mo agoYes, that's the correct definition.
- quink 1mo agoI still agree with parent’s definition more because it also covers the ironic, sarcastic case, as well as the inherent ambiguity of the word ‘besser’. Plainly put, ‘better’ for who? If you just say it as a logical series of making it worse while making it better you miss that the intention of the ‘better’ is the first place wasn’t even the intention to make it better for the user.
- jkrems 1mo agoBoth my memory (as a German) and Duden disagree with you. > etwas in der Absicht, es zu verbessern, schlechter machen > > https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/verschlimmbessern https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/verschlimmbessern "Making somewhere worse with the intention to make it better".
- heresie-dabord 1mo ago> For things that were intended good, but ended up bad, there's an English idiom: Better is the enemy of good. Old Italian proverb: "il meglio è nemico del bene" Shakespeare, King Lear: "Striving to better, oft we mar what's well".
- marton78 1mo agoIt's kind of like the road to hell, which is famously paved with good intentions.
- 1718627440 1mo ago> Better is the enemy of good. That's not the same at all. The idea there is that if you try to make the best, you will stop advancing towards good, not that you will worsen it.
- juvvel 1mo agoYeah, no, it means wanting to make things better but ending up making them worse.
- pseudohadamard 1mo agoAs opposed to Vershittification, the perfect union of terms from the two languages.
- gpvos 1mo agoVerscheißifizierung
- spacechild1 1mo agoNo, just no.
- rwoerz 1mo agoI think that's a subtle Verschlimmbesserung of the original definition.