De kat uit de boom kijken

Literally: To watch the cat out of the tree

Example: “De nieuwe collega kijkt eerst de kat uit de boom voordat hij iets zegt.” — The new colleague sees which way the wind blows before he says anything.

English equivalent: To see which way the wind blows

Origin: From dogs, as Stoett and Onze Taal explain: a dog that has chased a cat up a tree stands underneath barking and staring, waiting for it to come down. The 18th-century collector Carolus Tuinman held that a cat stared at long enough is forced to climb down. The phrase is known from the 17th century, first in the more literal sense of a fierce stare.