vuur met vuur bestrijden
Meaning: to counter a harmful action using the same method or intensity.
Language: Dutch
Literally: to fight fire with fire
Category: Nature
Origin: In firefighting, controlled fires are sometimes set to stop a spreading wildfire by removing fuel in its path.
More idioms — Nature
- ta sig vatten över huvudet — Get in over one's head; take on more than one can manage.
- tidens tand — The slow decay and wearing away of things through the passage of time, the gradual damage…
- djungelns lag — Survival of the fittest; a state of lawlessness where brutal competition and violence det…
- gräva sin egen grav — To cause one's own ruin or downfall through foolish actions.
- på hal is — In a precarious or dangerous situation that one cannot control or easily escape.
- mitt på ljusan dag — In broad daylight; openly and obviously, not in secret.
More Dutch idioms
- uit de hand lopen — to become uncontrolled or chaotic.
- achter slot en grendel — imprisoned or confined.
- tussen de oren — in one's mind or thoughts.
- in de clinch liggen — To be in conflict or at odds with someone.
- een uur in de wind stinken — To smell extremely bad.
- uit zijn plaat gaan — To lose control of oneself or go crazy.
From our tongue twisters
- Liesje leerde Lotje lopen langs de lange Lindelaan. — Eight consecutive l-words, with the vowel behind the l changing every time.
- De kat krabt de krullen van de trap. — A 'kr' cluster drill — Dutch consonant pileups that beginners approach with dread.
- Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegen achterna. — The same noun/verb homograph trap as the German version — vliegen does triple duty.