Met man en macht

with great/maximum effort, with might and main, massively
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[met man en macht] 

This expression can only be used in case of a group effort. It is used to emphasize that everybody helped out and gave all they had in order to achieve something.

The expression seems to make sense given the literal translation of ‘with man and power/force’, however its original form dates back to the middle ages and reads: met ‘man en maech’ (with man and his relatives) emphasizing the group aspect more than the effort.

Examples:
“Met man en macht probeerde de brandweer de brand te blussen maar het mocht niet baten; het pand is volledig afgebrand.” 
(“The fire brigade tried with great effort to extinguish the fire, but it was of no avail; the property burnt down completely.”)

“Met man en macht is gisteren de hele dag gezocht naar het vermiste meisje.” 
(“Yesterday a huge search party searched all day long for the missing girl.”)

“De laatste aanhangers van de dictator verdedigden met man en macht hun bolwerk in het midden van de stad.” 
(“The dictator’s last followers massively defended their stronghold in the centre of the city.”)

Related words:
– Man: man (male or person/human) [noun] [de man, de mannen].
– Macht: power [noun] [de macht, <no plural>].

Example:
– “De rebellen hebben de macht overgenomen in het zuiden van het land.”
(“The rebels have assumed power in the southern regions of the country.” Lit.: “.. in the south of the country.”)

– Massaal: massive [adjective/adverb].
– Inzet: effort, dedication [noun] [de inzet, <no plural>]. In case of the translation of ‘stake, wager’, the plural form is ‘de inzetten’.