Laat maar zitten
(Lit: let it sit) Never mind / forget it
Hij ziet het niet meer zitten
He is depressed / he quits
Auteursarchief: YorienvdH
Heb je het door?
Het doorhebben = begrijpen, doorzien, merken
To understand, to see through, to be aware, to notice
Heb je ‘t door?
Do you understand? Are you aware? Do you dig?
(Lit) She understands him
(meaning:) She knows what he is up to
I know him to the core, thoroughly
Nou breekt mijn klomp
Wooden cloggs: Everyone in Holland knows what wooden cloggs (klompen) are and what they look like. Nowadays wooden cloggs are worn less than in the past. In those days almost every Dutchman had a pair of wooden cloggs and walked on them every day. It is no surprise that we can find some ‘klompen’ in our language, too:
Nou breekt mijn klomp!
(lit: now my clogg breaks!)
I am flabbergasted!
Dat kun je op je klompen aanvoelen
(Lit: You can feel it coming with your cloggs on)
It is only logical to expect this kind of thing
In the old days there were many wooden shoe-makers, who all made their own models with their own variety of colours and decorations. This large diversity in wooden shoes from the past and also those from today, is a valuable part of the cultural heritage of the Dutch.
Museum “Gebr. Wietzes” in Eelde, which was founded in 1990, presents a wonderful survey of this heritage.
Addertje onder het gras
Heb je het contract gelezen? Er schuilt vast een addertje onder het gras
Did you read the contract? There is probably a catch
(Lit.: There is probably a viper hiding in the grass)
This expression refers to: Anguis in herba latet – The adder lurks in the grass
(Vergilius – Vergil’s Eclogues)
Also heard: er zit een addertje onder het gras
Dat heb ik nog nooit meegemaakt
Meemaken = beleven
To experience, to participate, to live through
Dat heb ik nog nooit meegemaakt!
I have never experienced this before!
Nog iets beleefd vandaag?
(Lit) Did anything interesting happen to you today?
(meaning:) How was your day?
Ik heb de oorlog niet meegemaakt.
I was born after WW II
Ze heeft veel meegemaakt in haar leven.
She has suffered a lot in her life
Hij zit! (Voetbal-Dutch)
Knoop het in je oren
Het oor (noun: the ear)
Hij legt zijn oor te luisteren
He is listening in and mentally recording what is said
Zijn moeder geeft hem een draai om de oren
His mother slaps him on the head
Knoop het in je oren!
Remember it for ever!
Dat gaat het ene oor in, het andere uit
It won’t stick, it will be forgotten right away
Het zit tussen de oren
It’s all in the mind
Herfst
Het is herfst
It is autumn
De herfst heet ook wel: het najaar
The Autumn is also called ‘het najaar’
De herfst is een van de vier seizoenen
Autumn is one of the four seasons
Eitje!
Eitje!
[Lit. Little egg!]
Easy! No sweat!
Alles lijkt weer koek en ei, totdat…
[Lit. Everything seems to be cookie and egg again, until…]
Everything seems to be alright, until..
Dat is het ei van Columbus!
[This is said when a complicated problem has been solved by a very simple solution that nobody thought of before.]
It’s Columbus’ egg!
Terug van weggeweest
When somebody or something has been gone for a while and has returned (like a feature in fashion, or when people have returned after a long journey), this expression can be used:
We zijn weer terug van weggeweest
(lit) We are back from having been away. We have returned!