DutchDe hond in de pot vinden
Meaning: To arrive too late — the food, or the opportunity, is gone.
Literally: To find the dog in the pot
Example: “Toen we eindelijk bij de bakker waren, vonden we de hond in de pot.” — By the time we got to the bakery, we'd missed the boat.
English equivalent: To miss the boat
Origin: As Stoett's dictionary and Onze Taal explain, after the meal the dog was allowed to lick out the nearly empty pots, so anyone who came home to find the dog with its nose in the pot knew nothing was left for them. Middle Dutch had de hont is in der scapraden, "the dog is in the pantry" eating up the leftovers, and the modern form is in 16th-century proverb collections. In Flanders one could also find "the cat in the kettle."
Equivalents in other languages
English: miss the boat
French: Rater le coche Literally: To miss the coach
More Dutch idioms
- Een appeltje met iemand te schillen hebben To have a bone to pick with someone.
- Iets onder de knie hebben To have mastered a skill.
- Met de neus in de boter vallen To arrive at exactly the right, lucky moment.
- Het regent pijpenstelen It is raining very heavily.
- Iets met de Franse slag doen To do it carelessly and half-heartedly.
- De kat uit de boom kijken To wait cautiously before committing.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- 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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