Bärendienst

== German == === Etymology === From Bär (“bear”) +‎ -en- +‎ Dienst (“service”). Compare Swedish björntjänst, Danish bjørnetjeneste, Norwegian Nynorsk bjørneteneste, Russian медвежья услуга (medvežʹja usluga) and similar forms in other languages. From the French fable L’Ours et l’Amateur des jardins by Jean de La Fontaine, in which a tame bear wants to do his master a favour by hitting a fly that has sat down on the master's forehead, but hits it so hard that both the fly and the master are killed. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbɛːrənˌdiːnst/, /ˈbeːrənˌdiːnst/, /ˈbeːɐ̯nˌdiːnst/ Hyphenation: Bä‧ren‧dienst === Noun === Bärendienst m (strong, genitive Bärendienstes or Bärendiensts, plural Bärendienste) disservice; mistaken favour, poisoned chalice (something that is done with the intention to help, but turns out to be detrimental) ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== einen Bärendienst erweisen === Further reading === “Bärendienst” in Duden online “Bärendienst” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache