Met de neus in de boter vallen
Meaning: To arrive at exactly the right, lucky moment.
Language: Dutch
Literally: To fall with your nose in the butter
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Tumble into the kitchen just as the fresh butter is churned and you land in good fortune — a cheerful Dutch stroke of luck.
Equivalents in other languages
- Italian: Cadere a fagiolo — literally: To fall like a bean
More idioms — Food & Drink
- 미역국을 먹다 (Miyeokgugeul meokda) — To fail an exam.
- Lägga rabarber på något — To claim or grab something for yourself.
- Nu har du satt din sista potatis — You've done your last misdeed; you're finished.
- Bułka z masłem — Something very easy; a piece of cake.
- Se faire rouler dans la farine — To be conned or deceived.
- Avoir le melon — To be bigheaded and conceited.
More Dutch idioms
- Het regent pijpenstelen — It is raining very heavily.
- Iets met de Franse slag doen — To do it carelessly and half-heartedly.
- De kat uit de boom kijken — To wait cautiously before committing.
- Iets voor zoete koek aannemen — To swallow a story uncritically.
- Met de gebakken peren zitten — To be stuck with the unpleasant aftermath.
- De koe bij de horens vatten — To tackle a problem head-on.
From our untranslatable words
- Tampo — Pulling back your warmth and affection when you've been hurt — going quiet and distant, h…
- Shemomechama — Eating well past fullness simply because the food is too delicious to stop.
- Prozvonit — To call someone's phone and hang up after one ring, so they call you back and you save th…