zoden aan de dijk zetten

Dutch

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Literally: “to add sods [of turf] to the dike”.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈzoː.də(n) ˌaːn də ˈdɛi̯k ˈzɛ.tə(n)/

Verb

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zoden aan de dijk zetten

  1. (intransitive, idiomatic) to have a significant effect, to make an important contribution
    Dat zet geen zoden aan de dijk.That does not make an important contribution.

Conjugation

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