sich aus den Fingern saugen
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German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Literally, “to suck out of one's fingers”. Compare Dutch uit de duim zuigen, Czech vycucat z prstu, Russian вы́сосать из па́льца (výsosatʹ iz pálʹca).
Verb
[edit]sich aus den Fingern saugen (class 2 strong, third-person singular present saugt sich aus den Fingern, past tense sog sich aus den Fingern, past participle sich aus den Fingern gesogen, past subjunctive söge sich aus den Fingern, auxiliary haben) ("sich" is in the dative case)
- (idiomatic, reflexive) to think of something, to make up, to make up out of thin air, to invent (false stories, figures, etc.), to pull out of one's ass (fabricate a claim with no factual basis or evidence)
- Das hast du dir wieder aus den Fingern gesaugt.
- You've made it up again.
Conjugation
[edit]1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.