I think if you said "proto-indo-european" or PIE then youd avoid debate. Afaiui Sanskrit stems from the same original speech, P.I.E., that European languages stem from. But that doesnt mean that European languages stem from Sanskrit anymore than modern English stems from modern Deutsch (Hochdeutsch or more properly Standarddeutsch). Rather English and Deutsch have a common origin.

OT: I recall that one of the tools for dating divergance of various languages includes determining what words they use for certain key words, such as "cotter-pin", and "ocean", and that other words are used to show that our languages stem from a common ancestor, like "fart". (Which reminds me of how I always get a chuckle on the highways here in Germany when I see the signs marked "Ausfahrt", while I know they mean 'exit' I cant help but think 'out fart' and the mental image of a bunch of drivers doing their best to lay a stinker when they see the sign just makes me crack up.)

Hey, very good point - the information I have does not really deny such wider possibilities - updated accordingly.

By the way - in Dutch, which can seem like a parody of German to non-native speakers, although it's uitrit (out ride) as written but yet everyone calls it an afslag (off-hit literally (erm huh?)). But there is another literally similar to German Dutch word uitvaart which is even closer to the English expression you refer to. Unfortunately, or perhaps more comically depending on your sense of humour, uitvaart means a funeral service in Dutch. You have to have an even more twisted black-humour (like mine) to find that funny ;) (hint: make a noise when reporting bad news about a person's health - or you can imagine a non-Dutch-speaking German accidentally going to a funeral instead of taking an exit - or both at the same time if it's a driving accident ;)) - and then there's the advertisement I saw in Amsterdam for german lessons "Kommen Sie klahr ins Deutsche?" - in Dutch, klaar kommen (lit. "coming ready") is erm shall we say sexual in nature ... I am sure there are many many more opportunites for fun with all three languages. Notwithstanding Monty Python's Hungarian phrase book sketch of course.

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^M Free your mind!

I am sure there are many many more opportunites for fun with all three languages. Notwithstanding Monty Python's Hungarian phrase book sketch of course.

Well, there are opportunities for jokes mixing quite about any pair of languages, I suppose. A politically correct example is "I Vitelli Dei Romani Sono Belli" which in Italian reads like "Romans Calves Are Nice" and "Go, Vitellius, To The Sound Of War Of Roman Gods" in Latin. An XXX version involving German is "Kats In Der Kool" (not really sure is written correctly) which should translate in English like "Cat In The Coal", but also sounds like a very gross Italian expression.