IdiomDaily Life
Dutch
Dutcheen tandje bijsteken
Meaning: To intensify one's effort or increase the pace of activity; to move up a gear.
Literally: To stick on a little tooth
Example: “Als we de deadline willen halen, moeten we een tandje bijsteken.” — If we want to meet the deadline, we need to kick it up a notch.
English equivalent: To kick it up a notch
Equivalents in other languages
English: kick it up a notch
Origin: Een tandje is a little tooth, one notch on a toothed rack or gear. Moving up a notch gives more power or speed, so een tandje bijsteken is putting in more effort, and een tandje lager (a notch lower) is calming down. Which toothed device was first meant is not documented.
More Dutch idioms
- van lotje getikt To be crazy or eccentric; to be not quite sane.
- in de wind slaan To deliberately ignore or disregard something.
- niet veel soeps Unimpressive or mediocre; not worth much.
- in de kiem smoren To nip something in the bud; to stop a problem before it grows.
- voet bij stuk houden To stand firm and refuse to give in to pressure or threats.
- een bittere pil something unpleasant or difficult that one must accept.
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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