WS III Translation, My Solution

Is it OK to …?

Tell someone to go to hell

Oh heavens, no. This starts with the uncertainty that we don’t even know where that’s supposed to be. And even if we did: isn’t it kind of awesome there? There’s fire, brimstone, and rock music. Making a pact with the devil promises eternal youth, virtuosic violin playing, and at least momentary pleasure in life.

Besides, the expression has lost all of its power. The question is rather: what is it even? An insult? A misplaced quotation from Goethe’s Faust? Imagine a rapper who uses the devilish expression as the climatic burn of his linguistic acrobatics on his mixtape. He wouldn’t make past the Compton city limits with that. Because the construction has old written all over it. And those who use it probably still say “Blimey!” and “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle”, sounding as if they’ve stepped off of a set for The Christmas Carol. If we’ve learned nothing from good old Ebenezer, it’s that negativity often comes back to haunt us. Case in point: Kevin in Home Alone, who eventually starts to terribly miss the annoying siblings and chaotic parents he so impassionedly wished away. So be careful what you wish for, you little hellraiser.