A look into German and English "paper" expressions.
Paper, be it white, yellow, folded, bent, new, recycled, or acid-free, has added many colorful expressions to the German language. “Auch was Geschriebenes forderst du, Pedant?” (You want something in writing, too, you pedant?), Goethe’s Faust incredulously asks Mephisto. The fussy Devil seems to agree with the late film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who allegedly declared that, “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” (Ein mündlicher Vertrag ist das Papier nicht wert, auf das er gedruckt ist!). Mephisto states: “Was man schwarz auf weiss besitzt, kann man getrost nach Hause tragen,” (What is put down in black and white may safely be carried home.) Of course, the contract in question is not strictly black or white, since Faust used his own blood as ink – to sign away his soul. Mephisto sometimes appears as a very German devil, the nightmarish version of a nitpicking Beamter (civil servant). Anyone who has ever been close to despair trying to sort through miles of red tape, will easily understand why this procedure is called Papierkrieg (paper war). Another expression for complicated official procedures very commonly used among native speakers when referring to nonsensical decisions is,“der Amtschimmel wiehert” (the white horse of authority is neighing). Unfortunately, the origins of this peculiarity are lost to us. The current buzz word is Schreibtischtäter (desk perpetrator), a term first coined for Nazi officials in the Third Reich, it is now applied to the higher ranks of the former DDR government. It means someone who does not sully his owns hands with dirty deeds, but delegates such tasks to the lower ranks. Another phrase currently being flogged to death by the media is Papierform, which means something that looks good on paper but may not actually be up to par. The expression can be applied to everything from soccer teams to operatic ensembles. A paper tiger is just that in German (Papiertiger), while to paper over the cracks is called “die Risse in der Fassade übertünchen” (to paint over the cracks in the facade). But the word for “paper chase” is “Schnitzeljagd” (schnitzel hunting) This Schnitzel has nothing to do with the ever-popular cutlet, but refers to scraps of paper (Papierschnitzel) used to mark a trail. One seemingly paper-thin expression describes overprotective mothers who are said to wrap their children protectively in tissue paper: “Sie möchte ihr Kind am liebsten in Seidenpapier wickeln.” Someone who doesn’t mince his words won’t hold a sheet of paper before his mouth: “Er/Sie nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund,” whereas an unknown quantity is regarded as a blank sheet: “Er/Sie ist ein unbeschriebenes Blatt.” And the word Blatt means not only a sheet of paper, but also refers to a newspaper. A pun on these meanings is contained in the phrase: Ein Rauschen im Blätterwald (literally, a rustling of forest leaves). It denotes what is known in English as “yellow journalism,” but shows itself more colorfully in German: Regenbogen-Presse (rainbow press). Naturally, the proper reaction to a questionable tale in print is to shrug it off with a casual remark: “Papier ist geduldig!” (Paper is patient!).