Je handen laten wapperen

to be busy, to engage in physical work Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

"Je handen laten wapperen" literally means "to let your hands flutter" or "to let your hands move". Someone "laat zijn handen wapperen" when he is busy with physical work. The weak regular verb "wapperen" means "to flutter" and is also used to describe a flag that is blown by the wind.

Examples:Klussen_4
– "Als we allemaal even onze handen laten wapperen is het eten zo klaar." 
("If we all do something, dinner will be served in no time.")

– "Kom eens uit die stoel en laat je handen wapperen!" 
("Get out of that chair and so something!")

– "Verhuizen is een eitje als iedereen zijn handen even laat wapperen." 
("Moving is a piece of cake if everyone helps to do it.")

– "De vlag wapperde in de wind." 
("The flag was blowing in the wind.")

Expressions:
– De handen uit de mouwen steken: to put one’s shoulder to the wheel. Lit.: to stick one’s hands out of
the sleeves.

Related words:
– Wapperen: to flutter, to wave, to blow, to snap [verb] [wapperde, gewapperd].
– Hand: hand [noun] [de hand, de handen].

Extra:
Although not mentioned in the Dutch dictionary "Van Dale" (and therefore not eligible for dwotd) but widely used is the expression "losse handjes hebben" which literally means "to have loose hands" and relates to aggressive people who start a fight fast / hitting others fast.