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Original text - Nederlands - hier woont een kikkerbil die niks geven wil

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This translation request is "Meaning only".
Title
hier woont een kikkerbil die niks geven wil
Text to be translated
Submitted by tijanaxx
Source language: Nederlands

hier woont een kikkerbil die niks geven wil
11 November 2009 19:05





Last messages

Author
Message

11 November 2009 21:32

maki_sindja
Number of messages: 1206
Hi Lein. It's me again!

Does this mean:
"Here lives a frog leg that doesn't want to give anything."

It's weird...

CC: Lein

12 November 2009 12:48

Lein
Number of messages: 3389
Lol ! This is a very peculiar Dutch phrase...

I only know it in the context of St Martin's Day (11 November) where it is part of a song.
Saint Martin's Day is celebrated in some parts of the Netherlands, mostly in the north, by children who make a lantern and in the evening go past the houses in their street and neighbourhood singing songs. After their song, the person who has opened the door is supposed to give them sweets, fruit, a small toy or some coins. A bit like 'trick or treat' for Hallowe'en. Sometimes of course, nobody is at home - but you can't always tell if they are really not at home or hiding and refusing to open the door so that they won't have to give anything. In that case, children may sing:

'hier woont juffrouw kikkerbil
die vandaag niets geven wil'

So essentially, juffrouw kikkerbil (here: een kikkerbil, probably to make it male and female) essentially is someone stingy, a Scrooge, and is mostly called so because it sounds horrible and rhymes with 'wil'!

(If you are ever in the Netherlands on 11 November, find someone to stay with in a part where they celebrate this and make sure you have something to hand out - it can be really sweet seeing and hearing the little kids sing their best with their self made lantern!)

16 November 2009 10:18

maki_sindja
Number of messages: 1206
Hehe, that's interesting!
I would really love to experience it one day!

I'm a bit confused now which word to use instead of a 'kikkerbil'...

16 November 2009 12:35

Lein
Number of messages: 3389
something like 'scrooge' maybe? An English translation could be 'miser'; other Dutch words: gierigaard, vrek... And then maybe explain the literal meaning of 'kikkerbil' in the notes?
Good luck