Dutcheen lans breken
Meaning: To take up someone's cause or defend a position publicly.
Literally: To break a lance
Example: “De burgemeester brak een lans voor de kleine winkeliers.” — The mayor went to bat for the small shopkeepers.
English equivalent: To go to bat for someone
Equivalents in other languages
English: go to bat for someone
Origin: From the tournaments of the Middle Ages, as Stoett and Onze Taal explain: a knight who broke a lance for someone fought on their behalf in a joust. Breaking a lance for someone or something is standing up for them. Dutch examples go back to the 16th century, and the phrase exists in many languages: French rompre une lance pour quelqu'un, German eine Lanze brechen, English "to break a lance for someone."
More Dutch idioms
- de nek omdraaien To kill or destroy someone or something, or to bring an end to a project or endeavor.
- weten waar Abraham de mosterd haalt To be well-informed or knowledgeable about how things really work.
- niet op zijn mond gevallen zijn To be outspoken and forthright; to speak one's mind without hesitation.
- tussen neus en lippen door To say something in passing or casually, without emphasis or drawing attention to it.
- op eigen benen staan To be independent and self-sufficient; to support oneself without relying on others.
- van lotje getikt To be crazy or eccentric; to be not quite sane.
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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