aus der Luft greifen

to pull out of thin air

Türkçe: yoktan var etmek

Noun

Luft f.

Verb

greifen

Topic

Gesellschaft und Leben

In a sentence

Der Politiker greift sich die angeblichen Fakten einfach aus der Luft.

How it is used

Idiom meaning 'to pull out of thin air' (invent without basis). Colloquial register. Use when a politician makes an unsubstantiated claim. Nuance: implies fabrication, not just guessing.

Other verbs that go with Luft

This is the choice the collocation turns on.

• Luft schöpfento catch one's breath
• in der Luft hängento be left hanging
• in der Luft liegento be in the air
• in die Luft fliegento explode/blow up
• in die Luft gehento blow one's top
• an die Luft setzento fire/throw out

All collocations with Luft

Other collocations built on greifen

• jdm. unter die Arme greifento help someone out
• zur Flasche greifento reach for the bottle
• jdm. in die Tasche greifento pick someone's pocket