Example: Hij haalde het met hangen en wurgen net op tijd af.
Definition
"Met hangen en wurgen" is a Dutch expression meaning to barely succeed in doing something, often with great difficulty or by the narrowest margin. It describes a situation where success is achieved just in time or just enough to meet a challenge.
The phrase "met hangen en wurgen" literally translates to 'with hanging and strangling.' It originally conveyed the idea of a desperate struggle, as if one were literally hanging on or being strangled. Over time, it came to figuratively describe narrowly escaping failure or managing something with great difficulty.
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"Met hangen en wurgen" appears in the Vocaplus list "Dutch - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (C1) - set 1", containing 100 commonly used expressions.
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with great difficulty