When a Dutch person uses this expression, it can have a slightly negative or positive ring to it. For example, some Dutch students might not be impressed when they have to do group work and one group member just sits back and lets the others do all the talking. They might then think this person ‘kijkt de kat uit de boom’. But ‘staring the cat out of the tree’ can also mean you like to know exactly who or what you’re dealing with before acting. (CvdB)
(Illustration: Juan Carlos Ortiz Nicolas, MSc, Mexico
Dutch talk
‘Hij kijkt de kat uit de boom’ (literally: ‘He is staring the cat out of the tree’). When a native English speaker says, ‘He’s waiting to see which way the wind blows’, they mean the same as when the Dutch use the expression, ‘Hij kijkt de kat uit de boom’, which basically means, ‘He’s not doing anything, but merely waiting to see what happens’. When a Dutch person uses this expression, it can have a slightly negative or positive ring to it. For example, some Dutch students might not be impressed when they have to do group work and one group member just sits back and lets the others do all the talking. They might then think this person ‘kijkt de kat uit de boom’. But ‘staring the cat out of the tree’ can also mean you like to know exactly who or what you’re dealing with before acting. (CvdB)
(Illustration: Juan Carlos Ortiz Nicolas, MSc, Mexico
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