Danish term
United States
ilden og sørge (apparent idiom??)
In reference to the management's plans for negotiations, apparently for a corporate takeover, the executive says THIS:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Vi skal holde dem ved ilden og sørge for de får noget at arbejde med
| 3 +2 | keep them busy and see they have something to work on |
Christine Andersen
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| 3 +3 | We need to hold their feet to the fire and make sure they have their work cut out |
Thomas T. Frost
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Non-PRO (2): Christopher Schröder, Michele Fauble
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Proposed translations
Denmark
the message, not just the words
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
Works in: Danish to English, English
keep them busy and see they have something to work on
That would be my suggestion.
Holde dem til ilden
is roughly equivalent to the expression keep their noses to the grindstone, but here it may also have a note of firing up motivation. Or it may simply mean to keep the process running, and keep people busy.
Sørge for ...
is not really an idiom. I sometimes translate it as ensure that ... or see (to it) that ...
Portugal
‘Very good precision work’ – Comunica.dk
Native in: Danish (Variant: Standard (rigsdansk)) 
, English (Variants: UK, British)
Works in: Danish to English, English to Danish, French to Danish
We need to hold their feet to the fire and make sure they have their work cut out
"Vi skal holde dem ved ilden,
og vi skal sørge for, de får noget at arbejde med".
The first one, "holde dem ved ilden", can be translated almost literally. See the explanation at ordnet.dk (link below).
The second one is a variant of "komme på arbejde", I think, given the context (see the second link), but "komme på arbejde" is often just used literally.
| agree |
Christine Andersen
: have their work cut out fits really well
8 hrs
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Thanks
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| agree |
Michele Fauble
18 hrs
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Thanks
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| agree |
Charlesp
: I would say this suggestion is best, considering that "ilden" is used in the text
2 days 15 hrs
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Thanks
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