# die Hütte brennt

die Hütte brennt is a German expression meaning “things are bad, shit has hit the fan, the situation is dramatic and stressful (especially regarding the operation of a company, government or other such entity)”.

## Meanings

1. _idiomatic_ things are bad, shit has hit the fan, the situation is dramatic and stressful (especially regarding the operation of a company, government or other such entity)
   - Wer weiß. Der Fehler und die Vertuschung des Fehlers ziehen immer größere Probleme nach sich. Die versuchen, überall die Feuerchen auszutreten, aber in Wahrheit brennt denen schon die ganze Hütte. — Who knows. The mistake and its covering up keep leading to bigger and bigger problems. They try to stamp out all the little flames, but in truth the whole house is up in flames already.
2. _idiomatic_ the crowd is going wild (in celebration or similar frenetic behavior)
   - Spätestens als der MGV Odernheim und die Klostersänger gemeinsam auftraten, "brannte die Hütte". — By the time MGV Odernheim and the monastic choir performed together, there was no stopping the party.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Hütte, brennen.

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Sources: Meanings and forms from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR).
URL: https://wordwide.space/de-en/wort/die%20H%C3%BCtte%20brennt