nothing doing / negative report
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nothing doing
Used colloquially to express that something expected or desired is not present or has not happened.
Ich hatte auf Sonnenschein gehofft, aber am Wochenende war leider Fehlanzeige.
I had hoped for sunshine, but on the weekend it was unfortunately nothing doing.
The word consists of 'fehl' (which indicates absence or failure) and 'Anzeige' (report/notification). A 'Fehlanzeige' is therefore a report that something is missing or has not occurred.
Die Suche nach dem vermissten Schlüssel war bisher eine Fehlanzeige.
The search for the missing key has so far turned up nothing.
You can recognize the colloquial meaning by the fact that the word is often used without an article and with the verb 'sein' (to be). The formal, official meaning, on the other hand, usually appears with an article and verbs such as 'erstatten' (to file) or 'melden' (to report).
Gute Laune? Heute leider Fehlanzeige.
Good mood? Unfortunately, nothing doing today.
In the colloquial meaning, 'Fehlanzeige' (nothing doing) is almost always used as a predicative noun in the fixed structure '[Something] ist/war Fehlanzeige' ([Something] is/was nothing doing). The subject is the thing that is missing.
Wir haben auf eine Lösung gehofft, aber bisher: Fehlanzeige.
We had hoped for a solution, but so far: nothing doing.
In formal and official language, the expressions 'eine Fehlanzeige erstatten' (to file a negative report) or 'eine Fehlanzeige melden' (to report a negative result) are often used. This means officially documenting that something was not found.
Nach der erfolglosen Durchsuchung erstattete die Polizei eine Fehlanzeige.
After the unsuccessful search, the police filed a negative report.
nothing
'nichts' and 'Fehlanzeige' both have to do with the absence of something. 'nichts' is the normal word when no thing is present or nothing happens. 'Fehlanzeige' is used when you expect, look for, or hope for something, but it is not there. Colloquially, it can be a short, disappointed answer. Formally, it can also be a report saying that nothing was found. 'Nichts' is more general; 'Fehlanzeige' emphasizes more strongly: something was expected, but there was no result.
Nach einer Stunde Suche war der Schlüssel immer noch Fehlanzeige.
After an hour of searching, the key was still nowhere to be found.
Im Kühlschrank ist nichts mehr zu essen.
There is nothing left to eat in the fridge.