Een appeltje met iemand te schillen hebben
Meaning: To have a bone to pick with someone.
Language: Dutch
Literally: To have a little apple to peel with someone
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: In 16th-century Dutch, sharing an apple to peel meant a private sit-down — the perfect cover for settling a score.
Equivalents in other languages
- Norwegian: Å ha en høne å plukke med noen — literally: To have a hen to pluck with someone
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Musztarda po obiedzie — Too late to be of any use.
- Rzucać grochem o ścianę — To plead with someone who will not listen.
- 국수를 먹다 (Guksu-reul meokda) — To attend a wedding — or, asked as a question, when will you marry?
- حط في بطنك بطيخة صيفي (ḥuṭṭ fī baṭnak baṭīkha ṣayfī) — Relax completely; do not worry about a thing.
- दाल में कुछ काला है (daal mein kuchh kaalaa hai) — Something suspicious is going on.
- Å koke bort i kålen — To come to nothing; to fizzle out unresolved.
More Dutch idioms
- 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.
- Iets voor zoete koek aannemen — To swallow a story uncritically.
From our proverbs
- If you can't beat them, eat them — When victory is impossible, consume the problem literally or metaphorically to eliminate…
- If you mess with the bull, you get the horns — Confronting a dangerous opponent directly invites predictable retaliation.
- Ill-gotten gains never prosper — Money obtained through dishonesty ultimately fails to generate lasting wealth or security.