blood and guts

idiom )blvd En (gvts

Usage

The informal expression “blood and guts” is used to refer to violence and bloodshed, especially when it occurs in fiction, such as in crime or war novels, and in films. In most real-life situations, it would be inappropriate to use this idiom, as it would add a humorous, ironic or sarcastic note. Unless “blood and guts” is being used literally, which is unlikely, of course, Blut und Eingeweide would obviously not be a suitable translation. In reference to crime stories, Mord und Totschlag will often be a good fit. In the case of other types of stories, perhaps rohe Gewalt or Blutvergießen.

Background

The word “gut”, which often appears in the plural, goes back to a Proto-indo-european root meaning “pour”, and is related to German gießen and Gosse (via the High German sound shift, where [t] changed to [s]). The guts include the stomach and intestines. Someone “with a gut” has a fat stomach. And someone who “has guts” exhibits courage and determination. If you “hate someone’s guts”, you feel extreme hatred for that person. On a more positive note, if you have a “gut feeling” about something or a “gut reaction” to something, your instinct takes over. Finally, when you “gut a fish or animal”, you remove its intestines and other inner organs.

Every month, WILL O’RYAN turns his attention to a particularly interesting word or expression that could be a challenge to translate. ADVANCED Example “This was classic Stephen King, stressing psychological horror rather than blood and guts.”