to clear/brighten up
[verb]
[op-kla-ren, klaar-de op, op-ge-klaard]

Today is Koninginnedag and that is one of the days in the year of which you can be sure there will be no DWOTD… Well, as the weather is not cooperating much, I haven’t gone ‘downtown’ yet 🙂 However, it seems the sky is clearing up! "Opklaren" can also be used figuratively.

Examples:
– "Het leek vandaag een grauwe dag te worden, maar nu klaart het gelukkig op."
("It looked like today was going to be a gray day, but fortunately it’s brightening up now.")

– "Gaat het nog regenen denk je?" – "Volgens mij niet, de lucht is opgeklaard!" 
("Do you think it will rain?" – "I don’t think so, the sky has cleared up!")

– "En, hoe is het nu?" – "Nou, de situatie leek uitzichtloos, maar nu lijkt het op te klaren!" 
("So, how are things now?" -"Well, the situation seemed hopeless, but now it looks like it’s brightening up!" ‘Uitzichtloos’ translates as something like "without a positive outlook at all"; you can also use ‘hopeloos’.)

Expressions:
– "Na regen komt zonneschijn": after a storm comes a calm. Lit.: "after rain comes sunshine".

Related words:
–
Betrekken: to become overcast, to cloud over [verb] [betrok, betrokken].

Example:
– "De lucht was opgeklaard, en nu betrekt hij weer. Wat hebben we daar nu aan?!"
("The sky cleared up, and now it’s clouding over again. What good is that to us?!")

– Onbewolkt: cloudless, clear [adjective].
– Zonnig: sunny [adjective].

1. ash, ashes
[noun]

[de as, de as-sen]

The grayish-white to black powdery residue left when something
is burned, is called "as". "As" has no plural form, so both ash and ashes translate to "as".

Examples:
– "Pas op met die peuk, de as valt op de vloerbedekking." 
("Watch out with that cigarette, the ash is dropping on the carpet.")

– "De vulkaan in IJsland heeft een enorme wolk van as de dampkring ingestoten." 
("The Iceland volcano has thrust a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere.")

Expressions:
–
"In de as leggen": (lit.: to lay in the ash) to reduce to ashes.

Related words:
– Peuk: smoke, fag, cig(arette) [noun] [de peuk, de peuken].
– Asbak: ash tray [noun] [de asbak, de asbakken].

Example:
– "Schat
heb je weer gerookt? Je ruikt naar asbak…"
("Baby have you been
smoking again? You smell like an ashtray…") 

– Assepoester: Cinderella [noun] [de Assepoester, de Assepoesters], see Extra.

Extra:
In Dutch, Cinderella is called Assepoester. She’s called "assepoester" because – forced by the wicked stepmother and her daughters – she’s had to do a lot of dirty shores, such as lighting the fireplace, which made her have a lot of ash stains on her face and clothes. "Poester" is probably derived from or a corruption of "poetsen": to clean. So literally "Assepoester" would be "ash cleaning woman"…

2. axis
[noun]
[de as, de as-sen]

An "as" is also an axis. In this case, "as" has a plural form: "assen".

Examples:
– "De as van het kwaad bestaat uit een aantal schurkenstaten." 
("The axis of evil consists of a number of rogue states.")

– "De aarde draait in 24 uur om zijn as." 
("The earth revolves on its axis in 24 hours.")

– "Tijd staat op de x-as, winst op de y-as." 
("Time is on the x-axis, profit on the y-axis.")

Related words:
– Spil: pivot [noun] [de spil, de spillen].

3. A flat
[noun]
[de as, de as-sen]

"As" is also a musical note or key.

Examples:
– "Chopins wals in As Groot is niet erg makkelijk om te spelen." 
("Chopin’s waltz in A-flat major is not very easy to play.")

– "Chopin stond erom bekend dat hij veel stukken in as groot componeerde."
("Chopin was known for composing a lot of pieces in A-flat major.")

Expressions:
–
"Een gevoelig snaar raken": to touch (upon) a tender string, to strike a sensitive chord.

Example:
– "Heb je hem al gevraagd of hij wil trouwen?"
– "Nee, dat raakt een gevoelige snaar…"
("Have you already asked him if he wants to get
married?" – "No, that touches upon a tender string…") 

Related words:
– Toonladder: scale [noun] [de toonladder, de toonladders].
– Noot: note, key [noun] [de noot, de noten].
– La: <musical note> la [noun] [de la, de la’s].

Example:
– "Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – si – do!"
("Do – re – mi – fa – sol
– la – ti – do!" Note that the "si" is not a typo!) 

to be stranded, to strand
[verb]
[stran-den, strand-de, ge-strand]

Derived from the noun "strand" (beach) this verb takes on the meaning of "washing ashore" (of goods), or "running aground/ashore" (of ships). However, it is more commonly used in its (figurative) translation of "to be stranded" or "to fail/strand". Note the ‘second d’ in the past tense.

Examples:
– "Ik heb medelijden met al die mensen die op de luchthaven zijn gestrand." 
("I feel sorry for all those people who stranded at the airport.")

– "Zijn vernieuwende plannen strandden al in een vroeg stadium." 
("His innovative plans already came to a hold at an early stage.")

– "Met een beetje geluk houdt die vulkaan weer op en strand ik niet op de terugweg!" 
("With a little luck this vulcano will stop again, and I won’t get stuck on the way back!")

– "De gestrande walvis trok veel bekijks." 
("The stranded whale drew a lot of attention." The word ‘bekijks’ is derived from ‘kijken‘: to look, to watch. ‘Bekijks trekken’ translates to something like ‘to draw look-upon’.)

Related words:
– Strand: beach [noun] [het strand, de stranden].
– Vast: fixed, attached, stuck [adverb/adjective].

Example:
– "Debbie en Nikki zijn gestrand in Bangkok en zitten nog vast tot zeker het einde van de maand."
("Debbie and Nikki stranded in Bangkok and are stuck until the end of the month at least.")