zoden aan de dijk zetten

Dutch

Alternative forms
  • zoden aan de dijk brengen

Etymology

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

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

Verb

zoden aan de dijk zetten

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