Wortwildnis

🇬🇧 Originally a book title, this phrase is used when someone is asked for news, but nothing new has come up. It is also used regardless of which direction one lives in.

🇬🇧 Originally the title of an anti-war novel that alluded to the dire situation on the Western Front in World War I: despite the high toll of soldiers on both sides, the front line did not change significantly for months... there was therefore "nothing new from the Western Front" to report... after the reunification, the phrase was particularly used when an "Ossi" became "excessively" enthusiastic about something that was neither new nor particularly special to an arrogant "Wessi." - thus actually in the sense of "in the West (there is) nothing new"... Fortunately, it is now more commonly used in the sense of "not really new/no special occurrences" - regardless of direction - and is thus merely a reminiscence of the novel title...