grim ælling

Danish

Etymology

Literally, “ugly duckling”. From the fairy tale of a duckling, considered ugly, that matures into a magnificent swan.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˌɡ̊ʁɛmˀ ˈe.le̝ŋ]
  • Hyphenation: grim æl‧ling

Noun

grim ælling c

  1. (idiomatic) ugly duckling (one who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they mature)
    • 1997, Nationaløkonomisk tidsskrift:
      Det gør det vigtigt, at man i de almindelige tidsskrifter også giver plads til en lidt ufærdig idé , der kan udvikle sig fra en grim ælling til en fuldbåren svane.
      This makes it important that ordinary periodicals also make space for a somewhat unfinished idea that can transform from an ugly duckling to a consummate swan.
    • 2005, Erland Kolding Nielsen, Kommunikation erstatter transport: den digitale revolution i danske forskningsbiblioteker 1980-2005 : festskrift til Karl Krarup, Museum Tusculanum Press, →ISBN, page 209:
      Men alligevel forandrede DEF sig fra at være en grim ælling til en flot svane.
      But nonetheless, DEF [Danmarks Elektroniske Forskningsbibliotek] turned from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan.
    • 2017, Vivi Sjøner, Prinsesse Natalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Mit liv med heste, Lindhardt og Ringhof, →ISBN:
      »Da Rigoletto blev født, var han en grim ælling. En meget grim ælling. Men med årerne og en masse arbejde, er han blevet til en smuk svane.
      "When Rigoletto was born, he was an ugly duckling. A very ugly duckling. But with years and a lot of work, he has become a beautiful swan.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:grim ælling.
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see grim,‎ ælling.

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

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