Aan de praat

This is an expression in Dutch that you can use whenever a machine refuses to work or you don’t know how to turn it on exactly, for instance an old car, a second hand copier, a coffee machine, a brand new computer … So it isn’t necessary that the object actually t a l k s (praat > praten = to talk ).

Hoe krijg ik ‘m aan de praat?
How do I turn it on?

Dutch idiom: aan de praat

Hoe krijg ik ‘m weer aan de praat?
How do I fix it, how do I make this thing work again?

sound bites Dutch idiom

Ben je helemaal belatafeld?

 

If somebody asks you to do something, and you think this is too ridiculous or simply impossible to do, you can give one of the following answers. They all mean more or less “No way!” or “Forget it”.

Ja, da-ag!
ja da-ag
(yes, goodbye)

Dacht ‘t niet!
dacht het niet
(didn’t think so)

Vergeet ‘t maar!
vergeet het maar
(just forget it)

Geen denken aan.
geen denken aan
(won’t even think about it)

Ik pieker d’r niet over.
ik pieker er niet over
(won’t even consider it)

Kom nou!
(Come on)

Ben je helemaal belatafeld?
ben je helemaal belatafeld
(are you crazy?)

What does belatafeld mean?


tafel = table

la = drawer

be-la-tafel-d =>  to be table-drawered ? ??

Well. It actually doesn’t mean that.
It is only a way of saying…that you must be out of your mind