dreschen
Translation
to thresh, to thrash, to beat up
Examples
Früher drosch man das Korn mit Flegeln.
In the past, grain was threshed with flails.
Er hat ihn windelweich gedroschen.
He beat him to a pulp.
Sie drosch leere Phrasen.
She spouted empty phrases.
Grammar Patterns
((sth.)) to thresh sth. They used to dreschen the wheat by hand.
((sb.)) to thrash sb. He threatened to dreschen him.
Similar Words
Synonyms: schlagen (to hit), prügeln (to beat), verprügeln (to beat up)
Etymology
From Old High German 'dreskan' (to step, to hit). Cognate with the English word 'thrash'.
Memory Tips
The sound 'dresch' sounds like a 'thrash' or a 'crash'. Picture the action of threshing grain, separating the useful from the useless, which also applies to 'spouting empty phrases'.