een uur in de wind stinken
Meaning: To smell extremely bad.
Language: Dutch
Literally: to stink an hour in the wind
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Origin uncertain; the phrase exaggerates the distance and duration that a terrible stench carries on the wind.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- under kniven — Undergoing surgery, or under intense pressure to perform.
- fjällen falla från någons ögon — To suddenly understand something that was previously hidden or obscured.
- med glimten i ögat — To say or do something in a joking or cheeky manner, with playful mischief rather than se…
- ha luktat krutrök — To be experienced in battle or conflict; to have been tested under fire.
- reta gallfeber på — To infuriate or enrage someone intensely.
- lägga vantarna på — To get hold of something; to seize or obtain.
More Dutch idioms
- uit zijn plaat gaan — To lose control of oneself or go crazy.
- Helaas, pindakaas — Too bad, nothing can be done about it.
- Nu komt de aap uit de mouw — The truth is finally revealed.
- Met de deur in huis vallen — To get straight to the point without any preamble.
- Iets voor een appel en een ei kopen — To get something for next to nothing.
- De hond in de pot vinden — To arrive too late — the food, or the opportunity, is gone.
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.