Small talk

Near the end of this list stands vom Hölzchen aufs Stöckchen kommen, and taken word for word it is nonsense: to get from the little bit of wood onto the little stick. Both nouns carry the diminutive -chen, so nothing heavy is being moved from one to the other, and that is the whole point of the picture. A conversation that goes vom Hölzchen aufs Stöckchen hops from one trifle to the next, each suggested by the last, and never arrives anywhere in particular. Said afterwards with a smile — wir kamen vom Hölzchen aufs Stöckchen — it describes a good evening, which is exactly what small talk is for. Said about a meeting, it is a complaint that nobody kept to the agenda. The verb is kommen, so the perfect is built with sein: wir sind vom Hölzchen aufs Stöckchen gekommen. Its calmer neighbour, über Gott und die Welt reden, covers as much ground without the hopping.