voet bij stuk houden
Meaning: To stand firm and refuse to give in to pressure or threats.
Language: Dutch
Literally: to hold foot by stick
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The phrase pictures planting one's foot firmly, anchored in place like a stick driven into the ground.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- uit de hand lopen — to become uncontrolled or chaotic.
- tussen de oren — in one's mind or thoughts.
- een uur in de wind stinken — To smell extremely bad.
- under kniven — Undergoing surgery, or under intense pressure to perform.
- fjällen falla från någons ögon — To suddenly understand something that was previously hidden or obscured.
- med glimten i ögat — To say or do something in a joking or cheeky manner, with playful mischief rather than se…
More Dutch idioms
- stoom afblazen — (Already vivid in English).
- het heft in eigen handen nemen — To take control of a situation or seize the initiative.
- bittere pil — something unpleasant or difficult that one must accept.
- op zijn bord krijgen — to be assigned a task or burden.
- met de kippen op stok gaan — to go to bed very early, at sunset.
- vuur met vuur bestrijden — to counter a harmful action using the same method or intensity.
From our untranslatable words
- Toska — A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.
- Dépaysement — The disorienting yet often pleasant feeling of being far from home, immersed in the unfam…
- Flâner — To wander a city slowly and aimlessly, savouring it with no destination in mind — the art…