de kroon spannen

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch crone spannen. Kroon here refers to a victor's laurels.

Verb

de kroon spannen

1. (intransitive, idiomatic, now relatively uncommon) to reign supreme, be the best or finest

   Deze saison spant de kroon onder de bieren van deze brouwerij. ― This saison beer is the finest of this brewery's beers.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic) to take the biscuit

   Ik heb veel slechte films gezien, maar deze flutzooi spant de kroon. ― I have seen many bad films, but this utter garbage takes the biscuit.

Usage notes

• Recent usage trends towards the negative sense of take the biscuit; the neutral or positive sense, which is the original meaning, is now rather uncommon.

Conjugation

Conjugation of de kroon spannen: see spannen.