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There's this book called "Kom hier dat ik u kus" by Griet Op de Beeck.

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The title's literal meaning seems to be "Come here so that I may kiss you". I haven't read the book (nor can I with my poor Dutch), but I get the sense that this is some cultural reference - perhaps a children's game?

Help me solve this riddle.

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  • It is not a common saying, cultural reference or children's game; it has no special meaning in Dutch. Maybe in Flemish?
    – user6860
    Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 22:33

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Scholieren offers an explanation of the title of this semi-autobiographical work by Flemish dramaturge Griet op de Beeck (English courtesy of Google translate):

Titelverklaring

Come here that I kiss you Flemish: in Dutch we would say: come here, I want to kiss you (in Flemish everybody is called you). The title comes back late in the story: Louis says it to Mona after they have argued and he wants to show her that he loves her. Mona, however, has heard this phrase much more often: perhaps not in so many words, but it is characteristic of the relationships she has or has had with the people around her. Come here that I kiss you means that Mona has always been obedient, always trying to make people happy and always has been relentlessly turned into something, for example to get rid of if she was angry.

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  • So, are you saying this expression is not actually in use outside of this book? Or is it actually common? Also, I didn't get the Flemish vs Dutch difference.
    – einpoklum
    Commented Nov 29, 2017 at 18:57
  • @einpoklum as I understand it (or not, in my case) Flemish, or Belgian, Dutch is slightly different from the Dutch spoken in The Netherlands (pronunciation, lexicon, expressions). The author has titled the work from an utterance by the antagonist which, for her, it has a far deeper, and darker, meaning than when one says 'let me kiss you,' an expression commonly (or similarly) found in many languages.
    – Giorgio
    Commented Nov 29, 2017 at 19:14

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