'ran gewichst und nicht gezittert

14:00 Nov 14, 2008 

Thanks to all responders. I can only add (having translated some 30 of his letters) that the writer was excruciatingly delicate about what he put on paper with regard to sex. And any fear in this instance would be of embarrassing himself. This was his first letter after returning from a Christmas leave, and it was a duty only in that he had promised it; in all other respects, writing to his wife was clearly a pleasure. Again, I really appreciate your input. I decided to give the points to Johanna for identifying the source of the expression.

13:33 Nov 14, 2008 

Or even, 'over the top, keep your nerve, old boy'.

13:31 Nov 14, 2008 

It seems to me the soldier is jokingly comparing writing to his wife to preparing to fight. I wonder if something like: 'Here goes (as you suggest), keep your nerve, old boy...' would get that across?

18:38 Nov 13, 2008 

Since the letter is from 1941, I'm not too sure about the sexual connotation. "wichsen" used to be nothing more than a harmless synonym for "to polish [e.g. boots]". I'm not sure when the sexual connotation first came up, but it could well be that in 1941 "wichsen" was still harmless.

18:00 Nov 13, 2008 

This might be a Skat expression, but you're probably aware of sexual connotation of the first part of the expression. If it indeed refers to the Skat term than any synonym of "Zähne zusammenbeißen" , e.g. grit your teeth and carry on, should work.

16:32 Nov 13, 2008 

My first thought is something like "here goes".