# zet de boel maar op zijn kop



## Geordie2

I received a birthday card with the phrase: Jarige! Hartelijk gefeliciteerd zet de boel maar op zijn kop. I am guessing that the first part means "Birthday boy! Happy birthday", but I am struggling to work out what the rest means. Can you help?


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## Peterdg

I don't know how to translate it to English. Literally it means :"Do turn things upside down". The meaning behind is: do whatever you like to have a great time, even if it's unconventional and/or it possibly disturbs other people.


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## eno2

I found this: 

Birthday boy! Happy birthday and turn the whole place over.


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## Hans Molenslag

Peterdg said:


> Literally it means :"Do turn things upside down". The meaning behind is: do whatever you like to have a great time, even if it's unconventional and/or it possibly disturbs other people.


Agreed. The idiom _de boel op zijn kop zetten_ basically means _make a mess_. But in this particular context it means _have fun/a great party_ [by making a mess].


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## bibibiben

Hans Molenslag said:


> Agreed. The idiom _de boel op zijn kop zetten_ basically means _make a mess_. But in this particular context it means _have fun/a great party_ [by making a mess].



Yes, agreed.

English expressions that would come close: go on a spree, paint the town red, live it up, shake the (whole) place up etc.



eno2 said:


> I found this:
> 
> Birthday boy! Happy birthday and turn the whole place over.



I found the exact words on Goed vertaaladvies gevraagd en gegeven hier. Woorden, uitdrukkingen, zinnen. - Pagina 7 - Politics.be. Were you quoting yourself?

The translation wouldn't be right anyway. _To turn sth. over _means _to search sth. thoroughly (and make a mess)_ in British English. Dutch equivalents would be _binnenstebuiten keren_ or _ondersteboven halen_.


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## eno2

bibibiben said:


> Were you quoting yourself?


No, reverso.net. It gives two or three translations for "de boel op zijn kop zetten". All doubtful. Others outright wrong, silly or inadequate.
Het is het quivalent van "de boel op stelten zetten" en het moet te vinden zijn.

It's the equivalent of "de boel op stelten zetten" and it should be retrievable.


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## bibibiben

Reverso.net is basically just scouring web sites for translations. It's doomed to offer hit-or-miss quality.


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## bibibiben

Van Dale: _de boel op stelten zetten _= _to raise hell, to raise Cain_. Which is not the translation you want here. _De boel op zijn kop zetten_ is much more benign.


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## eno2

It's a little bit different, but here not much. Anyhow, if Van Dale does not have it...


bibibiben said:


> Reverso.net is basically just scouring web sites for translations. It's doomed to offer hit-or-miss quality.


Indexing websites: 
I know, but it is one of the few that offers translations of expressions and full sentences
apart from Linguee which gives  no results.


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## Peterdg

bibibiben said:


> I found the exact words on http://forum.politics.be/showthread.php?p=8417631. Were you quoting yourself?


Bibibiben,

Er is iets mis met de link die je geplaatst hebt. Als je hem aanklikt, word je naar een login pagina gestuurd van de site portal.publieksomroep.nl.

Als je de tekst van de link overtikt zoals hij getoond wordt in de post, dan ga je wel naar de bedoelde pagina.


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## bibibiben

Peterdg said:


> Bibibiben,
> 
> Er is iets mis met de link die je geplaatst hebt. Als je hem aanklikt, word je naar een login pagina gestuurd van de site portal.publieksomroep.nl.
> 
> Als je de tekst van de link overtikt zoals hij getoond wordt in de post, dan ga je wel naar de bedoelde pagina.



Vreemd, ja! Ik heb de link opnieuw geplaatst. Nu ga je wel naar de juiste website.


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## Geordie2

Thank you all so much for your input. I am very grateful.


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