Idiom: das war also des Pudels Kern
Explanation: With the sense of 'So that's the explanation', this is a quotation from Goethe's verse tragedy Faust, when Mephistopheles appears before Faust first in the guise of a black poodle and then returns to human form.
Examples: Sie wollte also nur den Posten haben. Das ist des Pudels Kern.
Er ist immer so rührend besorgt um seine Tante Paula gewesen. - Was Wunder? Sie ist sehr vermögend und er hoffte auf die Erbschaft. - Das war also des Pudels Kern!
Sense: so that's what was behind it
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