IdiomAnimals
Dutch
DutchTwee vliegen in één klap slaan
Meaning: To achieve two things with a single action.
Literally: To swat two flies in one blow
Example: “Ik breng de kinderen naar school en ga daarna meteen naar de markt. Zo sla ik twee vliegen in één klap.” — I'll drop the kids at school and go straight on to the market. That way I kill two birds with one stone.
English equivalent: To kill two birds with one stone
Equivalents in other languages
Korean: 꿩 먹고 알 먹고 (Kkwong meokgo al meokgo) Literally: Eating the pheasant and its egg too
French: Faire d'une pierre deux coups Literally: To make two blows with one stone
Italian: Prendere due piccioni con una fava Literally: To catch two pigeons with one fava bean
Indonesian: Sambil menyelam minum air Literally: While diving, drink water
Chinese: 一箭双雕 (Yī jiàn shuāng diāo) Literally: One arrow, two hawks
English: kill two birds with one stone
Spanish: Matar dos pájaros de un tiro Literally: To kill two birds with one shot
Japanese: 一石二鳥 (Isseki nichō) Literally: One stone, two birds
German: Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen Literally: To swat two flies with one swatter
Polish: Upiec dwie pieczenie na jednym ogniu Literally: To roast two roasts on one fire
Portuguese: Matar dois coelhos com uma cajadada só Literally: To kill two rabbits with one blow of the stick
Turkish: Bir taşla iki kuş vurmak Literally: To hit two birds with one stone
Origin: Recorded in Harrebomée's Dutch proverb dictionary (1858–1862) as dat is twee vliegen in één klap ("that's two flies in one blow"), with the variant met één lap ("with one cloth"). German uses the same picture, zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen.
More Dutch idioms
- De pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart is Someone criticizes another person for a fault they have themselves.
- Het sop is de kool niet waard It isn't worth the trouble.
- 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.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- 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…
- Boketto Staring off into the distance with your mind pleasantly empty, thinking of nothing at all.
Keep exploring