IdiomBody & Senses
Dutch
Dutchmet de nek aankijken
Meaning: to regard someone with scorn or disdain; to look down on.
Literally: To look at with the neck
Example: “Na de ruzie keek ze haar zus wekenlang met de nek aan.” — After the argument, she gave her sister the cold shoulder for weeks.
English equivalent: To give someone the cold shoulder
Equivalents in other languages
French: Faire la soupe à la grimace Literally: To make grimace soup
English: give someone the cold shoulder
Spanish: ley del hielo Literally: Law of ice
Origin: Showing someone one's neck is turning one's back on them, not deigning to look at them. Stoett records iemand met den nek aanzien from the 16th and 17th centuries, in Bredero, Hooft and Vondel, and links it to iemand den nek toekeren, to turn one's back on someone. Sewel's 18th-century dictionary translates it "to disdain looking at one."
More Dutch idioms
- 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.
- 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.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Eendracht maakt macht People who stand together are stronger.
- Een vos verliest wel zijn haren, maar niet zijn streken People may change their appearance, but not their character.
- Al draagt een aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding Fine adornment doesn't change what someone really is.
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