A rather corny affair (metaphor)
When Katharina Blum’s private life starts to interest the police, her friends and relatives are also interrogated about her boyfriends or lovers. Being a pretty woman, Katharina attracts a lot of attention and there are enough men who try to woo her, but her high moral standards and love for independence doesn’t allow her to start relationships with them. Describing one of Katharina’s admirers, Miss Woltersheim calls him ‘’a rather corny affair’’, implying that his behavior is not gentlemanlike.
The story is rather pregnant with action (metaphor)
The narrator says that “the story is rather pregnant with action”, implying that the story is jam-packed with different events which happen so quickly that it is pretty difficult to keep them all in mind.
To go to the dogs (metaphor)
When Sträubleder tells Blorna, who happens to be his friend and lawyer, that he isn’t going to let Blorna and his wife Trude “to go to the dog”, Sträubleder promises Blorna that an incident with Katharina Blum isn’t going to ruin Blorna’s career. It should be mentioned that Sträubleder is directly involved in the incident, because he is the mysterious man who tries to woo Katharina, but he isn’t going to inform the police that expensive gift and a love letter found in Katharina’s apartment are from him. While Blorna and his wife suffer from the pressure of the press and faux accusations, Sträubleder doesn’t want to risk his career to solve the problem.
Like a real little fuzzy (simile)
The wife of one of the former employers of Katharina Blum says that Katharina behaved “like a real little fuzzy” which led to her immediate dismissal. The statement is rather ridiculous, because a level Katharina’s professionalism is extremely high.
Rumpled and wrenched as a couple (simile)
The Carnival is always about joyfulness and celebration. The narrator describes the still celebrating city as ‘’rumpled and wrenched as a couple was”. Blorna and Trude, who spent a night in a train, looked rather worried and tired, the city itself also looked not as good as a night before.
