de kroon spannen
Appearance
Dutch
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle Dutch crone spannen. Kroon here refers to a victor's laurels.
Verb
[edit]- (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.
- (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
[edit]- 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
[edit]Conjugation of de kroon spannen: see spannen.