Dutchzich uit de voeten maken
Meaning: to flee or scram hastily.
Literally: To make oneself away with the feet
Example: “Toen de buurman naar buiten kwam, maakten de kinderen zich snel uit de voeten.” — When the neighbor came out, the children quickly made themselves scarce.
English equivalent: To make oneself scarce
Origin: The older form was zich uit de paardevoeten maken, to get out from under the horses' hooves before being trampled. Stoett links it to Erasmus's Latin adage procul e pedibus equinis (far from the horses' feet), for fleeing a danger, which 16th- and 17th-century Dutch writers such as Hooft and Bredero used as uit de paardevoeten. Stoett adds that the shorter modern form need not have come from the horses; either way it came to mean simply clearing off.
Equivalents in other languages
Catalan: Tocar el dos Literally: To touch the two
Spanish: mandarse a mudar Literally: To order oneself to move
English: make oneself scarce
More Dutch idioms
- van de oude stempel old-fashioned or adhering to outdated styles and ways of thinking.
- er met een jantje-van-leiden van afmaken to perform a task carelessly, half-heartedly, or in a slipshod manner.
- 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.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring