IdiomNature
Dutch
Dutchin het water vallen
Meaning: for a plan or undertaking to fail or fall through.
Literally: To fall in the water
Example: “Door de staking viel ons weekendje Parijs in het water.” — Because of the strike, our weekend in Paris went down the drain.
English equivalent: To go down the drain
Equivalents in other languages
English: go down the drain
Origin: A plan that falls in the water sinks and is lost. Stoett records the phrase, said above all of parties and undertakings that fail, and notes the same image in French tomber dans l'eau and German ins Wasser fallen; Harrebomée's 19th-century dictionary uses it for a joke that falls flat. No particular story lies behind it.
More Dutch idioms
- zich uit de voeten maken to flee or scram hastily.
- van de oude stempel old-fashioned or adhering to outdated styles and ways of thinking.
- er met een jantje-van-leiden van afmaken to perform a task carelessly, half-heartedly, or in a slipshod manner.
- met de nek aankijken to regard someone with scorn or disdain; to look down on.
- bij de duivel te biecht gaan to seek counsel or confide in someone who is untrustworthy, dangerous, or morally corrupt.
- hout snijden to be convincing or logically sound; to hold up under scrutiny.
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- Tu as la tête sur les épaules You're grounded, sensible, and dependable — not easily swept off course.
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