een tandje bijsteken
Meaning: To intensify one's effort or increase the pace of activity; to move up a gear.
Language: Dutch
Literally: to stick on a little tooth
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The phrase likely derives from the image of gears meshing: engaging a smaller tooth gear increases speed and power, so 'sticking on a little tooth' means engaging a higher gear for greater intensity.
More idioms — Daily Life
- buiten de boot vallen — To be left out or excluded from a group or activity.
- ga toch fietsen — A rude dismissal telling someone to go away.
- niet veel zaaks — Unimpressive or mediocre; not worth much.
- veel noten op zijn zang hebben — To be demanding or to offer many critical comments.
- stoom afblazen — (Already vivid in English).
- het heft in eigen handen nemen — To take control of a situation or seize the initiative.
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.
- bittere pil — something unpleasant or difficult that one must accept.
From our tongue twisters
- 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.