What does the word „wall“ mean metaphorically for you?
Posted by RealKillering@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 116 comments
This question might sound confusing, but let me explain.
In German, “wall” is often used metaphorically to mean something impossible to get through—like an emotional barrier or a political divide.
The thought came to me while watching gun content. I’m an active sports shooter, and in safety classes here we treat a wall as a reliable bullet stop, even safe to fire into if needed, because we know it will stop the round.
In many American videos, though, walls—especially drywall—are seen as unsafe since bullets can easily pass through and hit someone on the other side.
So my question is: despite real walls often being penetrable, are they still used metaphorically as something immovable or impassable?
rawbface@reddit
This is silly. You think because we use drywall for residential interiors, that we think of walls as this fragile, easily breakable thing?
The USA is a paragon of engineering. We have brick walls, stone walls, sea walls, dams, and nuclear bunkers. American english includes idioms such as "back to the wall" and "hit a brick wall".
Drywall is not fragile. Residential housing construction code does not account for bullets, because that's not a real concern for the vast majority of people. We hang TVs, art, and bookshelves on the wall.
I would love to know what you are doing inside your home that makes you so concerned about what our walls are made of. Are you punching them? Doing soccer drills in the living room? I have never had an issue.
Standard-Outcome9881@reddit
You mean you aren't casually walking through walls here in the USA?
https://tenor.com/view/kool-aid-man-oh-yeah-gif-10117983411222945873
geri73@reddit
Only the Kool-aid man can do that.
Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit
Their only interest in our _ (insert "walls," "timber frame construction," "food" or whatever) is to understand the ways they can express the superiority of their ___ over ours.
SnapHackelPop@reddit
Oh good it’s time for another “do Americans know what real walls are”
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
No offense I know that you also use other building materials, it’s just that dry wall is not really used for walls here at all. So literally 99.9% of walls are bricks or concrete. When dry wall is used it’s usually as an interior wall or on top of a concrete wall. So you have the concrete wall and then with some 1 inch distance dry wall on top so that cables can be put in more easily.
TheJokersChild@reddit
Just like here.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
I honestly didn’t know that, I thought for like the standard 1 family home it’s usually wood framing.
TheJokersChild@reddit
It is, but the inside walls of any building are still gypsum, or in old houses, lath & plaster.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
So an outside wall of a residential building is wood framing with drywall or concrete?
TheBimpo@reddit
No. Why on earth would you think that drywall would be used for exteriors? I thought we were the ones who were ignorant.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
I actually searched about that video to show why I got that idea.
https://youtube.com/shorts/sB-P8HnkvKo?si=cTyNYW-aZ5xlx2wS
TheBimpo@reddit
Do you ask the Norwegians and Swedes and Japanese and English and Dutch about their walls or do you save your ignorance and condescension for us?
What is it about German culture that makes people with zero understanding of modern construction engineering technology so confident in their opinions of it?
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
I should definitely ask the Japanese since they actually traditionally used paper for the inside walls right? ;)
Don’t englisch people pretty much usually use pricks.
But no I did not even mean it in a condescending way. I know that wood framing and dry wall have advantages and disadvantages like everything else. I know that this have become I meme, but it was really not my intention to go about that meme of flimsy walls and such.
I think you also don’t know just how different building here is. Again not saying one is better then the other. I have been to the US before and didn’t even knew if the existence of dry wall before that. Every house I have been to at that had all stone walls inside and out. So it was definitely from birth also ways that basically whatever you do you cannot damage a wall, a car can also not go through a wall. E.G. when watching the matrix with that scene where they on purpose fall through the empty space in a wall to escape Mr. Smith, I couldn’t really understand. I did not know that walls with empty space in between layers (if it is not filled with insulation) even exist.
Then through the internet I suddenly saw videos and such where people being drunk or just stupid can punch through a dry wall. When I was in the states for some time this topic actually came up as well and some people also told me that they damaged inside walls before and that it’s actually not something to just play around with or try, since it’s actually possible and of course fixing it would cost something. That’s were I was the first time like: Wait they didn’t grew up with the idea that every wall is „indestructible“.
Of course you have brick and other super hard wall, but just the fact that you also have walls the can be „relatively“ easy damaged is just so different.
Then a few days a go I saw randomly those videos talking about self defense and such and that this or thank weapon poses a higher risk to punch through a wall and still hit someone. So the thought came back.
And of course I know that nobody just randomly shoots through walls and is super irresponsible and has 10 weapons and so on. I never meant that either. But those videos exists right? So it is actually a concern for a gun owner to not hurt someone innocent because they accidentally hit them while not seeing them behind a wall.
So that’s why I asked that question and it was serious. I never tried to offend and criticize the building style, I just wanted to learn.
zeviea@reddit
What did you call us??
Just kidding :)
TheBimpo@reddit
Why are you guys so obsessed with this ridiculous trope from action movies and goofy social media videos? We don’t in real life go around throwing each other through walls. There’s a stud every 16 inches, so you better be accurate with your bodyslamming.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
You gotta understand that we basically grow up seeing the US through Hollywood. Basically the biggest export at least culturally from the US to Germany are movies.
It’s also sometimes funny because some things by watching the movies we assume that it’s the standard, but it’s just a movie thing. And sometimes it’s to opposite we see something in a movie and thing it’s just like movie magic or whatever and it’s just actually normal.
jephph_@reddit
Nobody puts drywall on the outside of an exterior wall.
From the outside -> in on a wood framed home, it will be something like:
..then the Sheetrock for the interior covering of the wall
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the explanation, as I said before I honestly didn’t now. I now found a picture showing it, so you mean like this right?
https://www.rona.ca/documents/ronaResponsive/SpecialPages/Projects/assets/images/template-guide/choosing-exterior-wall-cladding/Exterior-wall-terminology.jpg
So on the outside you have either a wooden or a metal layer? How sturdy is this kind of wall, can it already stop something like a car?
la-anah@reddit
A Historic building in my town was hit by a car a few weeks ago. Keep in mind this is more than 100 years old, so not modern building codes. The brick foundation sustained significantly more damage that the wooden framing.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Faccident-v0-1k06cg1qqlgf1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D3060%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Da97616e344356e0cb8285ca773272ea47c86bacb
jephph_@reddit
A car? Nah, I’m pretty sure a car is going to plow right through a wall like the ones we’re discussing
It probably wouldn’t have to be going very fast either to do so. Maybe 25mph (40 km/h).. there’s a lot of inertia going on in that situation
I live in NY where timber framing is very rare (illegal even) and I’ve seen cars crash through walls here too. At least, the brick walls. I highly doubt a car could make it though one of the steel&concrete homes
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
That’s kind of what I meant also though. I tried to explain explain it in other comments before. I grew up knowing only of concrete and brick walls, not wood at all. I know that you also have concrete and bricks, but you also have wood. So that’s why. especially as a child a wall seemed like such an indestructible thing for me. So those metaphors are totally logical.
That’s why I know just growing up with also „softer“ walls being a thing, just knowing of it’s existence, would the word wall still be used the same in metaphors. So that was my thought, maybe it’s better explained that way.
This gun thing was just where this popped back into my had, since I saw a few videos talking a bit about that for self defense.
To maybe illustrate a bit further, when we see the news of a car crashing into a house, it usually looks like this. The car is totaled and the wall has a bit of damage but the car didn’t make it into the house. https://www.cz.de/resizer/v2/C7B332232434A244AB2244EAAA.jpg?auth=ad95fdf1592c8ed061263866e8510e92b36ad218a62c7c1ebdac167e9079cd6a&quality=70&width=1534&height=863&smart=true
Now if I search for the some thing just translated to English, I get pictures like that, where a car basically went through a wall. https://www.cjonline.com/gcdn/authoring/2009/10/04/NTCJ/ghows-KS-ab34b8db-3b65-4b9c-8dc6-f39acb55ef7f-3c3c318c.jpeg?width=660&height=495&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp
And of course if a car goes fast enough it would also get through a concrete or brick wall, but I do not really see that in the news, the car would need to go super fast. Btw. I already saw news of cars here actually flying into the roof and crashing all the way into it. Our roofs are also made from wood and plywood and just shingles on top to keep the rain out, pretty much the same as in the US.
jephph_@reddit
Yeah, ‘wall’ in English in a metaphorical sense is impenetrable.
It doesn’t mean “a barrier that will fail if pushed hard enough”
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Someone else said that brick wall would mean like even more impenetrable. Is that true or is it just a matter of taste?
jephph_@reddit
Hmm maybe. To me, I’d say it as an amplifier in the same way I’d say “that’s a big ass wall”
Ass is an amplifier to the statement as a whole but it’s not meaning “even bigger than a big wall”
Metaphorically, wall and brick wall would mean the same thing to me too. One isn’t stronger than the other.
So yeah, like you said, it’s more a matter of taste/speaking style instead of the two carrying a different meaning or strength
linds3ybinds3y@reddit
Exterior walls can be lots of different materials. Brick. Stone. Stucco. Concrete. Wood. Engineered wood. Metal.
FlappyClap@reddit
The walls between your kitchen and living room are not made of bricks or concrete, in most places.
Normally, to doze off, I watch time-lapse videos of people restoring old houses. It just so happens that last night I was watching a video of someone restoring an old house in Germany.
The roof was in shambles. First, they rebuilt the beams for the roof. Then covered those beams in plywood. When they were restoring the interior, they did exactly as we do, plywood on the outside, insulation, drywall.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
So the outside wall has plywood? I totally believe you, I just never saw that before. It’s mostly concrete or sand-lime bricks and if you wanna go dance red bricks.
FlappyClap@reddit
The roof was made of plywood on the exterior, insulation, and drywall, yes. On top of the plywood, they laid shingles.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
On the roof definitely, it’s wood framing with plywood and singles like 95% of the time. I though that you meant the walls.
FlappyClap@reddit
I edited my last comment and I linked a video of someone doing something similar elsewhere in Europe, probably southwestern France. You’ll see what I mean at 12 minute 41 second mark.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Yes sometimes behind the isolation there is dry wall, but the outside layer is shingles on a roof and normally bricks at the walls.
I honestly thought that often (not always) in the US you would have wood framing, but just frames not full wood then in between the frames isolation and drywall on the outside and another drywall layer on the inside.
So what’s usually the outside layer?
ToastMate2000@reddit
You don't use gypsum board on the outer side of an exterior wall. I have only ever seen plywood or oriented strand board for wood houses. It's then covered with a weather barrier and then the outer layer, which could be brick, lapped boards, metal panel, Hardie board, or whatever else
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
Usually plywood covered with a siding, heavy duty all-weather vinyl or aluminum is common.
FlappyClap@reddit
We use the same materials they use in Scandinavian countries, bricks and wood for the exterior.
anneofgraygardens@reddit
How does this sentence
go with this sentence?
So .1% of German walls are exterior walls? If 99.9% of walls are NOT drywall, but drywall is used as an interior walls...are all homes open concept? Are most interior walls made of brick and concrete, but less than .1% are made of drywall? Because obviously exterior walls are not made of drywall.
I'm just trying to understand the German wall math.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
No they aren't.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
So what are German walls made out of then?
FlappyClap@reddit
drywall and insulation
UniqueSaucer@reddit
I refuse to believe this question is being asked in good faith.
Succer11@reddit
the bulldozers from payday
bloopidupe@reddit
This is the funniest thing. "Since y'all have drywall as a building material... do you not know how strong a wall can be?"
devilbunny@reddit
They're using weak ammo if it can't get through a couple of bricks.
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
This metaphor is terrible, a fruit punch mascot can blow right through it!
homebody39@reddit
Yes, it’s commonly used when talking about runners hitting the wall.
There’s also the expression, “it’s like talking to a brick wall” which means nothing is getting through to them.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
It is the same here.
It would be treated that way here if it a hard barrier like a brick wall or steel door.
lokland@reddit
lol, perfect summary. And SUCH a German question. Nuance is just eliminated over there
RonMexico13@reddit
Drywall lives rent-free is the minds of all Germans for some reason.
Kevincelt@reddit
It’s weird because while dry wall is more common in the US, it’s very much a thing in Germany. I can walk around my German apartment and can pick out a number of walls made of dry wall.
anneofgraygardens@reddit
When I was in college I lived briefly in a co-op and one of the other people there was a German exchange student. We had a conversation like this:
him: why are the houses made of wood? In Germany, houses are made of stone or brick.
me: well wood is a much better material for withstanding earthquakes, and we have a lot of those in California. A brick or stone building would just collapse, and a wood building is more flexible and move more easily.
him: in Germany the buildings are stone and brick.
me: .......
OhThrowed@reddit
The only way it could be more German is if OP comes back and starts insisting that we're wrong.
Anustart15@reddit
Idk what you're talking about. My only frame of reference for something being a hard barrier is whether or not I can shoot a bullet through it. All other interpretations are entirely meaningless to me.
CinemaSideBySides@reddit
Despite what many people seem to think about Americans, hiding from gunfire is not a common concern for regular Americans
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
I did not mean it exclusively like that, it’s just were I saw the biggest difference for like an actual official training.
It’s also being able to damage a wall when you drip and fall, stuff like thaty
travelinmatt76@reddit
Our walls aren't that fragile. It's confirmation bias. Nobody uploads a video of a wall not breaking.
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
No one is damaging a wall by tripping and falling. We don’t live in TV sets.
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
I have tripped and fallen many times and I have literally never ever damaged a wall. They are not that fragile. The closest I have come is gouging a little chip out of it when something hard and sharp fell against it, and that was extremely minor.
Swimming_Document712@reddit
I sideways floor
sics2014@reddit
Yes. We often saying "like talking to a wall" to mean the person is very stubborn and hard to communicate with.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
That you for the answer. I totally know that you also have concrete walls and such, I really meant no offense. It’s just that you also have „soft“ walls, which we don’t really have, if that makes sense.
Also I wanted to give other examples as well, but there is a character limit. Another example would be that I saw cars crashed into buildings, while in Germany the car would be normally outside crashed against the building, so not being able to get through the wall. Also with movies and such showing people punching through dry-walls. I know it’s just a movie, but we still don’t have those scenes in German movies, unless someone has super powers.
ENovi@reddit
Ok so you know that giant wall that cut Berlin in two after the Allies steamrolled your SS and Wehrmacht grandfathers so thoroughly? Do you think Americans don’t understand how the wall was successful because we cannot understand why East and West Berliners didn’t just punch through it to get to the other side?
Why are Germans like this?
Sufficient_Cod1948@reddit
For instance, when trying to explain to a German that they are misinformed.
7yearlurkernowposter@reddit
I thought of the unix command.
I also live in a brick home from the 1950s so I have those real walls people claim never exist in the US.
devnullopinions@reddit
OP was clearly talking about the -Wall GCC flag.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
As I explained in other comments, I know that you also have brick, concrete, and more. So many people think that I try to criticize the usage of dry wall or that I don’t know that does materials exist.
It’s just the relative usage of „softer“ walls material is way higher in the US.
mjp31514@reddit
You're not wrong. In my experience, a lot of the houses in larger cities are older and made of brick. Newer construction (1960s and newer) seem to be more commonly built from wood and drywall, with aluminum siding. You see a lot of that when you get out of the cities in the suburbs, and more rural areas.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Yeah that is what I mean. I think many here do not understand how uncommon dry wall in Germany is. That’s why I honestly though that a wall could mean something different in metaphors.
I have basically seen the first dry wall in my life when I have been to the US. Of course I saw and know that you also have brick and concrete, I never denied that. As I said before it’s just that here basically every wall is stone and nearly impossible to damage.
As some have pointed out, yes dry wall exists here too, but it is extremely new and the usage is very different. Basically it’s mostly used for renovating old building. Meaning that every wall (also inside walls) are already full brick walls, but to keep the heating cost down you want to put more isolation in. Often it is put from the inside or on both sides, so here you would put insulation of the inside behind the brick walls and they to make it pretty again you add drywall to hide it. So you still have a massive one feed thick prick wall there.
And yes sometimes to save money 1 or 2 inside more like decorative walls are made with dry wall, but all the rest is very thick massiv brick wall, no wood framing or something like that, which I would also consider a „softer wall“.
Another example of how different the way of building are wall sensors. If I am informed correctly through videos, you guys usually have stud finders right? So you wand to find a stud so that you can drill through a wall and secure like a tv or something to a wall. I was so confused at first, because I didn’t know of that concept. With stone walls you can just fasten something everywhere. We also have wall sensors, but for the opposite reason, we just want to find the places where we cannot drill a wall since we don’t want to hit on electric line or something like that. Of course you also don’t want to hit an electric line, but you also want to find a place where it’s possible to drill right? We just want to find out where it’s not possible to drill so that we choose just any other location. I hope that makes sense.
And no I do not criticize the usage of dry wall, it also have many advantages like putting in a new electric line. Oh my god if you have a building here with all concrete or even steel-concrete walls it’s so hard to put in a new electric line. I had to do that once, you have to create a whole new channel in the concrete it literally took hours to just create this channel for the line to go through and it was only a few feet.
I guess I could have used a stronger hammer drill, but still I guess it’s way easier with dry wall, where you usually have a bit of empty space or easily removable stuff behind the wall right?
devnullopinions@reddit
A German asking if non-Germans can understand a metaphor has got to be one of the most German things I’ve ever experienced.
Limp_Dragonfly3868@reddit
As an American, I’m just another brick in the wall.
All in all.
SnapHackelPop@reddit
Leaving just a
MEMMMMMORYYYYYYYY
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
Alexa, play Pink Floyd
yidsinamerica@reddit
Ngl this is the dumbest question I have ever seen on this sub.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
My bathroom wall is made from concrete and I also grew up in a house made out of concrete and steel-concrete, so I actually do not think that you could shoot through it with a .45, maybe with a .50 bmg.
Anyways I explained it in other comments, the gun think was just the latest when the question popped back into my head. Because some gun tuber talked about different weapons for self defense and made big point of the fact if a stray bullet could just hit someone accidentally behind a wall.
The thing is that I grew up thinking that all walls are made of some sort of stone, so concrete or bricks. That why e.g. as a child I got super confused by something lie the scene in the Matrix where they fall through the inside of a wall. I did not know of wood framing, drywall, siding or anything like that, just massiv stone walls.
That’s why I really asked with just growing up and knowing that some walls are not basically indestructible would it still be used the in metaphors.
yidsinamerica@reddit
Damn that actually makes sense. I forgot the country was largely destroyed during WW2. Makes sense they would make a point to make their homes at least semi bulletproof. My bad.
But still, yes, we use the word "wall" as a metaphor to describe impenetrable forces. Also still a dumb question.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
By the way we also build our houses knowing that if the Cold War doesn’t stay cold, we would basically be the front line. Many bridges were always prepared to be blown up. Many parts of the autobahn were designed to be nearly instantly converted into military airfields.
The country was basically rebuild to be ready for war and that by the order of the US government. The black horses cavalry regiment (11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) was stationed where I grew up and some stuff like a baseball team is still named after them.
So I don’t know if building with concrete was just a coincidence or actually sometimes mandated.
cryptoengineer@reddit
Metaphorically, sure.
But there's a reason shotguns are preferable for home defense.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Thank you for answering without assuming that I think every American shoots through walls on a daily basis or that I don’t know that you also have other walls. :)
TheBimpo@reddit
It’s been a while since we had a perfect German post.
Yankee_chef_nen@reddit
Why are we treating this like a serious question? OP is clearly soap boxing asking us to confirm their preconceived notions about construction, guns, and safety in the U.S.
FlappyClap@reddit
Drywall is also called plasterboard and gypsum board across Europe.
Here’s a German company that manufactures drywall, or plasterboard:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knauf
They’ve been around since 1932.
Since drywall is a thing in your country. How does it affect your idea of a wall being impenetrable?
TillPsychological351@reddit
Ok, I won't claim to have in-depth knowledge of German residential construction...
... but I having lived in the country, I would guess the default material for walls is cinderblock, from what I've seen.
The existence of a dry wall manufacturer in Germany doesn't invalidate OPs point.
FlappyClap@reddit
The exterior walls are made of concrete or concrete blocks. Having lived in the country myself for many years, I can certainly say the walls between rooms aren’t made of concrete or cinder blocks, especially in new construction. They’re often a wooden or steel frame with insulation and wiring or plumbing between two sheets of drywall.
Ok_Gas5386@reddit
It’s an obstacle, but not necessarily insurmountable. If the obstacle is really difficult you qualify it. “We hit a wall” isn’t as severe as “we hit a brick wall.”
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the answer, that’s really interesting. I didn’t expect there to be a -metaphorical saying- with a difference in material.
I don’t believe that we have something like that in German.
Ok_Gas5386@reddit
Based on our idioms, Americans highly prize brick construction. “Running into a wall” is bad, but “running into a brick wall” is worse. If a woman is “built like a house” she’s well built and attractive, but if she’s “built like a brick house” she’s extremely attractive, and if she’s “built like a brick shithouse” she’s more attractive than is necessary/reasonable.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
So many people here think that I criticize the American architecture. I never wanted to offend anybody. I know that you obviously also use a lot of other building materials like bricks, concrete, steel-concrete and much more. And yes we also have dry wall in Germany, but it wasn’t really used much until recently. I would say in the last 5 years dry wall gets some usage, but never for outside walls often in combination with a concrete wall behind it and never load bearing (meaning we don’t use wooden load bearing structures with dry wall instead a full concrete or brick wall for anything load bearing).
I honestly just wondered if the meaning of wall has changed with the high usage of walls that are not as indestructible as concrete. I am also talking about wooden walls and such not purely dry wall.
Also it was not just about shooting, there was just a character limit so I couldn’t write more. It’s also with videos of cars crashing through wall or people falling into a wall and damaging it.
clearliquidclearjar@reddit
Drywall isn't used on the outside of American buildings, either. You could guess that by the name - it's not called wet wall for a reason. It's used instead of lathe and plaster or plasterboard to finish interior walls and ceilings. It's not load bearing. It's efficient to put up and it adds some fire protection. Outside and load bearing walls are made of wood, stone, concrete, brick, or metal, generally speaking.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
I though it’s dry wall since the building process is dry, just wall and nails. Not like concrete which is wet while building or bricks where you use „wet“ mortar.
I though the outside wall is still just wood frames with drywall wall on top. I saw something like that on a youtube video form an American YouTube, where he could just push a nail through an outside wall (of course the isolation was not in yet).
But I apologize for not knowing better.
FlappyClap@reddit
I appreciate your comments. It seems you actually didn’t know and were truly interested. Most of the time with these types of questions, they’re not interested and are just using this as a platform to soapbox, so to speak.
Most of us are so accustomed to the other types that we just assume this is yet another one of those posts, so you probably got a lot of snarky responses because of it.
clearliquidclearjar@reddit
And now you know.
ProfDoctor404@reddit
Please understand that the nature of your question/commentary regarding construction materials is a frequent trope of (often bad faith) questions from Germans specifically on this sub. So much so that there is even a copypasta response to it that I'm rather shocked that no one has posted already. This is a fond topics for the sort of Cultural-Chauvinism-that-is-totally-not-blind-Nationalism that some Europeans who post here don't seem to realize they possess.
But a couple points: Drywall is never used for exteriors, it is exclusively an interior material, nor are walls ever purely drywall. If you tried to punch though an exterior wall, even a wood and siding wall, your hand would break just the same as if you punched a masonry or concrete wall.
Also bear in mind that, as the copypasta alludes to, that environmental needs are also reflected in our choices of building materials. In the part of the country I live in, for example, the German style of building homes would be very dangerous due to Earthquakes. The average home from Munich or Berlin would be a deathtrap in Seattle or Los Angeles. It also allows for more cost effective options when it comes to dealing with both (from a North Central European perspective) extreme temperatures in terms of design options. Plus it produces far less carbon emissions than concrete. Just different options for different environments.
Zadojla@reddit
Just to clarify, when you write “wall”, do you mean the English word “wall”, or the equivalent German word for wall, maybe “Wand”?
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
What’s the difference? I guess I was talking about the translation of Wand.
Zadojla@reddit
Because if you were saying “wall”, not “Wand”, while speaking German, it could have a colloquial meaning in German we English speakers are unaware of.
TooCleverBy87_15ths@reddit
Sometimes Germans looking to ask bad-faith questions seize on how we apparently talk about race non-stop expecting it mean the same things as “Racen“.
WarrenMulaney@reddit
"Those stupid Americans and their [spins the wheel] NON BULLETPROOF HOUSES!"
culturedrobot@reddit
Yes, the phase “hit a wall” is used pretty frequently to describe an obstacle that stops forward progress.
Cacafuego@reddit
I got through 18 of my 20 chicken wings, but I hit a wall
JimBones31@reddit
But it was only that silly American Drywall so I kept on eating.
5usDomesticus@reddit
It depends on the context.
You're seriously overthinking it.
MyUsername2459@reddit
Yes, "wall" is sometimes used as a metaphor for an impassible barrier.
Saying "my back is against the wall" means you're pushed into a position you don't want to be in.
Saying "I hit a wall" means you have encountered an obstacle you cannot overcome.
This may surprise you, but we are aware of walls that are not made of drywall.
sociapathictendences@reddit
Cool question OP
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
I mean you had a pretty famous case of a wall coming down... did that change metaphorical usage of the German word for wall?
Low_Attention9891@reddit
Yes, it’s common to say “I’ve hit a wall with this” when something has become impossible.
Sleepygirl57@reddit
In many American videos, though, walls—especially drywall—are seen as unsafe since bullets can easily pass through and hit someone on the other side.
You all really think we just walk around 24/7 with guns blazing don’t you? I’m 57 and can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen someone open carry a gun. I also don’t get why everyone thinks drywall and wood houses are basically shacks waiting to fall down.
RealKillering@reddit (OP)
Of course I don’t think that. It’s also about cars being able to go trough some walls or people falling and damaging a wall. I am sure you have seen those „fail“ videos as well. I just could not write the other examples because of the character limit.
Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit
We have the same metaphorical phrases as you Germans do.
ArrrcticWolf@reddit
It really depends on usage, but in general I would say it means “an obstacle” or perhaps a “blocker (something preventing all progress in whatever task you are doing)”.
GrimSpirit42@reddit
When we hear 'wall', we can think of:
Having actual experience with guns, we do not consider a 'wall' a reliable bullet stop.
What we call that thing at the end of the shooting range is called a 'Backstop'. This is a good word that is used outside of shooting ranges, also. It means something that is at the rear of, or behind something, as a barrier, support, or reinforcement.
somethingtosay247@reddit
Another European with half a functioning brain lol who knew?
MagicalPizza21@reddit
Yes
Tommy_Wisseau_burner@reddit
Yes. Hitting a wall means hitting some sort of limit preventing you from moving past an obstacle/challenge
But yes, we know what walls are and we know what materials are. And not all walls are the same material irl
Sarollas@reddit
A bunch of German phrases about walls translate quite almost exactly into English and work the same
"Dünne Wände" for example can be translated literally and works the exact same.
We would use a phrase similar to "Mauer im Kopf" as something like a "mental wall", but in a more general sense than the reference to the Berlin wall.
There are plenty of other German expressions that don't translate well for example "Dad Auge isst mit" would have people confused for a minute.
SabresBills69@reddit
walls were thicker. think of old castles
i “ hit a wall” means you have a difficult barrier to get past On your own Or you hit a dead end like in a maze.
Chimney-Imp@reddit
We have brick walls here. The existence of drywall as a covering for our walls does not preclude the existence of brick walls. Walls are often metaphorically used the same way in our language as well. In fact I would bet money that a normal person could not pass through a normal wall.
dr_strange-love@reddit
Yes, walls are used as a metaphor for an impenetrable barrier. But gun safety classes also teach you to know what is down range even if it behind an obstacle like a wall.