Hydropower

Two words on this list name the water itself by where it stands. Das Oberwasser is the water above the plant, held back by the dam or the weir; das Unterwasser is what flows away below it. The difference in level between the two is what the turbines turn into power. One of the pair has escaped into everyday German. Oberwasser haben means to have the upper hand, and Oberwasser bekommen to gain it, usually after a bad spell: Nach der Niederlage bekam die Opposition wieder Oberwasser. The picture is the old mill, where whoever has water dammed up above the wheel has something to drive it with. The phrase takes no article, and English has nothing built on water to match it: « the upper hand » is the translation, and there is no river in it. On a site visit, of course, the word still means the reservoir side.