to struggle / kill time / flail
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to struggle with
To have to deal with an unpleasant problem, a difficult task, or an annoying person. It expresses that you spend a lot of time and energy on something you would rather avoid.
Ich muss mich schon seit Wochen mit diesem kaputten Drucker herumschlagen.
I've had to struggle with this broken printer for weeks now.
to kill time
To spend time doing unimportant or unproductive activities, often out of boredom.
Wir haben uns den ganzen Nachmittag im Café die Zeit herumgeschlagen, bis der Zug fuhr.
We killed time in the café all afternoon until the train left.
to flail around
To strike around wildly and uncontrollably, for example with the arms or with an object.
Das verletzte Tier schlug wild mit dem Schwanz herum.
The injured animal flailed its tail around wildly.
'Herumschlagen' (to struggle / kill time / flail) is a separable verb. The prefix 'herum-' stands at the end in main clauses, while in subordinate clauses and in the infinitive it remains attached to the verb.
Er schlägt sich jeden Tag mit technischen Problemen herum.
He struggles with technical problems every day.
You can recognize the meaning from the sentence structure: 'sich mit etwas herumschlagen' (to struggle with something), 'sich die Zeit herumschlagen' (to kill time), and 'herumschlagen' without a reflexive pronoun (uncontrolled movement).
Ich schlage mich mit der komplizierten Anleitung herum.
I'm struggling with the complicated instructions.
This meaning is always used reflexively with 'sich' and the preposition 'mit' + dative. The person who has the problem is the subject of the sentence.
Die Anwohner schlagen sich seit Monaten mit dem Baulärm herum.
The residents have been struggling with the construction noise for months.
The expression 'sich die Zeit herumschlagen' (to kill time) is a fixed unit. The reflexive pronoun is in the dative, and 'die Zeit' (the time) is the accusative object.
Am Bahnhof schlug ich mir zwei Stunden lang die Zeit herum.
At the train station, I killed two hours of time.
overwhelmed / slain
Erschlagen here describes a feeling of being severely overwhelmed and does not refer to a way of spending time. Die Zeit herumschlagen, by contrast, means filling a waiting period with unimportant activities. So, in the same waiting situation, you can feel erschlagen or pass the time.
Drei Stunden lang schlug ich mir im Wartezimmer mit Zeitschriften die Zeit herum.
I killed time in the waiting room with magazines for three hours.
Nach drei Stunden im überfüllten Wartezimmer fühlte ich mich völlig erschlagen.
After three hours in the overcrowded waiting room, I felt completely overwhelmed.
