Halve Hahn
Central Franconian
Noun
Halve Hahn m
- (chiefly Kölsch) a cheese sandwich, cut in half
German
Etymology
From Kölsch halve Hahn ("half a cock/rooster"). The origin is possibly an order like Kann ich ne Halve hann? ("Can I get half [a sandwich]?"), the last two words of which were then re-interpreted (either by foreigners or jokingly) as halve Hahn.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌhalvəˈhaːn/
Noun
Halve Hahn m
- (regional, in the Rhineland) a cheese sandwich, cut in half.
Usage notes
- The expression is rare in actual usage. Even in thick Ripuarian dialect one generally uses the plain and simple word Kiesbrütche ("cheese sandwich"). However, Halve Hahn is occasionally used as a shibboleth among Rhineland people and can be found on the menus of traditional Colognian pubs (as a humorous knowledge test for foreigners).
- The term is either uninflected, e.g. (accusative) den Halve Hahn, or the first part behaves like a normal German adjective, thus den Halven Hahn, and so on.