er met een jantje-van-leiden van afmaken
Meaning: to perform a task carelessly, half-heartedly, or in a slipshod manner.
Language: Dutch
Literally: to finish it off with a little John from Leiden
Category: The Absurd
Origin: The phrase references a figure from Dutch folklore or history associated with incompetence or shoddy work, though the exact origin is obscure.
More idioms — The Absurd
- bij de duivel te biecht gaan — to seek counsel or confide in someone who is untrustworthy, dangerous, or morally corrupt.
- van lotje getikt — To be crazy or eccentric; to be not quite sane.
- in de wind slaan — To deliberately ignore or disregard something.
- uit zijn plaat gaan — To lose control of oneself or go crazy.
- en koloss på lerfötter — Something that appears powerful and impressive but rests on a fundamentally weak foundati…
- så till den milda grad — To such an extent; to a remarkable or extreme degree, often used ironically.
More Dutch idioms
- met de nek aankijken — to regard someone with scorn or disdain; to look down on.
- hout snijden — to be convincing or logically sound; to hold up under scrutiny.
- water bij de wijn doen — to compromise or make a concession in a dispute or negotiation.
- de teerling is geworpen — an irrevocable decision has been made; the course of action is now set in motion.
- alleen de rozijnen uitpikken — to select only the best or most desirable items while ignoring the rest.
- een loopje nemen — to deceive or trick someone.
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.