Why does Frau Blucher mean glue in German?
Cloris Leachman, on NPR’s “Fresh Air” on June 3, 2009, claimed that Mel Brooks told her that Blücher (as in Frau Blücher) means “glue” in German, hence the reason for the horse whinnies. However, this is not true: Blücher bears no resemblance to the German for glue.
Why was Frau Blucher called that in Young Frankenstein?
But Young Frankenstein screenwriter and star Gene Wilder confirmed that he picked the name “Blücher” merely because it was one that sounded authentically German: When I was writing the first draft, I said, “I wonder if anybody would get it when someone said “Frau Blücher” and the horses neigh. Mel (Brooks) said, “Keep it in.”
What does the name Blucher mean in German?
Her name sounds like the German word for glue. The only in-joke connected with this gag is that so many people have missed its real humor and instead been taken in by a leg-pull. “Blücher” is not the German (or Yiddish) word for “glue,” nor does it sound remotely like any German (or Yiddish) word for “glue” — standard, slang, archaic, or otherwise.
Why does Frau Blucher’s name scare horses in’young…?
A generation of film-goers, missing the obvious humor behind the gag, are now convinced they know the subtle “secret” that makes this “in-joke” funny: “Blücher” is the German (or Yiddish) word for “glue,” and so the horses react in distress whenever they hear the name (because glue is made from horses, ya know):
Why do horses whinny when Frau Blucher is mentioned?
Every time Frau Blucher’s name is mentioned, horses are heard whinnying. The reason for this is commonly held to be that “blucher” is German for “glue”. This is an urban myth. This is uncited, though I have read the Snopes page.
Who is Frau Blucher in the movie Young Frankenstein?
Hyde Flippo taught the German language for 28 years at high school and college levels and published several books on the German language and culture. In Mel Brooks’ classic film parody Young Frankenstein (1974), Cloris Leachman plays a character called Frau Blucher.
What does the last name Blucher mean in German?
In other words, Blücher (or Blucher) is just a German surname. It has no particular meaning as a normal word in German and certainly does not mean “glue”!