über den Löffel barbieren

== German == === Alternative forms === über den Löffel balbieren === Etymology === From barbieren in the sense of “to rip off, defraud”, as also in scheren, English shave. The phrase über den Löffel (“over the spoon”) refers to a traditional barber's technique where the shaving of a person with sunken cheeks would be facilitated by pushing them out with a spoon. In the present idiom, the phrase typically merely serves to intensify the meaning of the verb without any direct semantic relation. === Pronunciation === === Verb === über den Löffel barbieren (weak, third-person singular present barbiert über den Löffel, past tense barbierte über den Löffel, past participle über den Löffel barbiert, auxiliary haben) (idiomatic, dated) pull a fast one [with accusative] ==== Conjugation ====