DutchDe dans ontspringen
Meaning: To narrowly escape trouble.
Literally: To leap out of the dance
Example: “Iedereen kreeg een boete, maar mijn broer ontsprong de dans.” — Everyone got a fine, but my brother got off scot-free.
English equivalent: To get off scot-free
Origin: Dans may mean a fight, as German Tanz did from the 16th century, but Stoett links the phrase above all to the medieval Dance of Death: murals in churchyards and chapels, still to be seen in Lübeck and Basel, showed Death dancing and drawing people of every rank, from pope to hermit, into the dance. No one could escape it, so springing clear of the dance is escaping a deadly danger. The phrase is found from the 16th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Finnish: Päästä kuin koira veräjästä Literally: To get off like a dog through the gate
English: get off scot-free
More Dutch idioms
- hoe de vork in de steel zit to understand the real situation or hidden mechanics of something.
- over de brug komen to hand over money or pay what is owed.
- in het water vallen for a plan or undertaking to fail or fall through.
- zich uit de voeten maken to flee or scram hastily.
- van de oude stempel old-fashioned or adhering to outdated styles and ways of thinking.
- er met een jantje-van-leiden van afmaken to perform a task carelessly, half-heartedly, or in a slipshod manner.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
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- Liesje leerde Lotje lopen langs de lange Lindelaan. Eight consecutive l-words, with the vowel behind the l changing every time.
- De kat krabt de krullen van de trap. A 'kr' cluster drill — Dutch consonant pileups that beginners approach with dread.
- Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegen achterna. The same noun/verb homograph trap as the German version — vliegen does triple duty.
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