die Hände über dem Kopf zusammenschlagen
to be horrified or dismayed; to throw up one's hands in shock
Origin
Known since the late 16th century, the phrase depicts an old gesture of dismay. It is interpreted as hands raised to heaven imploring God's help, or (so Röhrich) as an instinctive movement to protect the head. (Interpretation not entirely certain.)
Building blocks
Words in this expression
das Chaos· chaosdie Großmutter· grandmotherdas Kinderzimmer· children's roomder Kopf· headüber· overzusammen· together
Grammar that uses this word
- Two-way prepositions with accusative (Wohin? / where to)Wechselpräpositionen mit Akkusativ (Wohin?)
- Temporal preposition 'vor' (before, + dative)Temporale Präposition 'vor' (+ Dativ)
- Temporal clause with 'bevor' (before)Temporalsatz mit 'bevor'
- Infinitive construction 'ohne ... zu' / 'anstatt ... zu' (without / instead of doing)Infinitivkonstruktion 'ohne ... zu' / 'anstatt ... zu'
- Two-way prepositions contrast: Wo? vs. Wohin? (where vs. where to)Wechselpräpositionen Kontrast: Wo? vs. Wohin?
- Positional verbs with two-way prepositions (stellen/stehen …)Lokale Verben mit Wechselpräpositionen (stellen/stehen …)
Examples
Als die das im sah, schlug sie die Hände dem .
When the grandmother saw the chaos in the children's room, she threw up her hands in dismay.