Category Archives: DWOTD 1.0

Original DWOTD post 2006 – 2013

Het is erop of eronder!

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make or break, sink or swim, the moment of truth 
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[het is er-op of er-on-der]

Cowboy op stier vertrekt uit startblokkenLiterally “erop of eronder” translates as “on it (/on top) or under it (/underneath)”. It can be used in that translation, for example to determine where an object needs to be placed. Without context, when you say something is “erop of eronder”, you are saying that this is the moment of truth, you will fail or succeed, make or break.

Examples:
– “Dit is de laatste kans om een medaille te winnen, het is erop of eronder voor Sven Kramer.” 
(“This is the last chance to win a medal, it’s make or break for Sven Kramer.”)

– “Het is erop of eronder jongens, ik verwacht van iedereen een maximale inzet!” 
(“It’s sink or swim time boys, I expect everbody to give everything they have! Lit. “… I expect a maximum effort from everybody.”)

– “Moet je zo dadelijk je eindpresentatie geven?” – “Ja, het is erop of eronder…” 
(“Is it time for your final presentation” – “Yeah, the moment of truth…” Lit. “Do you have to give your final presentation in a moment?”)

– “Het was erop of eronder voor Ajax afgelopen zondag, want FC Twente had aan één punt genoeg…” 
(“It was make or break time for Ajax last Sunday, as F.C. Twente only needed one point…”)

Expressions:
– “Nu of nooit”: now or never.
– “Het moment van de waarheid”: the moment of truth.

Related words:
– Erop: on it, on top, on them [adverb].
– Eronder: under it, underneath, under them [adverb].

Gewond

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injured, wounded, hurt 
[adjective]
[ge-wond]

Gewond "Gewond" is derived from 'wond': wound. It is used when you are injured as a result of something serious, such as an attack or an accident. When you are injured while playing sports, we say that you are 'geblesseerd'. The related noun is 'gewonde': wounded/injured person.

Examples:
– "Vanmiddag was er een aanrijding op de A10." – "Echt? Is er iemand gewond geraakt?" 
("There was a crash/collision on the A10 this afternoon." – "Really? Was somebody injured?")

– "Gaat het? Ik zag je vallen! Ben je gewond?" 
("Are you ok? I witnessed your fall! Are you hurt?" Lit. "I saw you fall".)

– "De rabiate despoot is dodelijk gewond geraakt bij een luchtaanval." 
("The rabid despot was fatally wounded as a result of the air raid." Lit. "…got fatally wounded during …")

– "Toen het kind van drie hoog naar beneden was gevallen, was het wonder boven wonder slechts lichtgewond." 
("After having fallen three storeys/stories, miracuously, the child was only slightly injured." Lit. "When the child had fallen down from three storeys/stories high, miracle above miracle, it was only slightly injured.")

– "Door het busongeluk waren veel passagiers gewond aan het hoofd." 
("A lot of passengers were injured in the head after the bus accident." Lit. "Due to the bus accident…")

Related words:
– Slachtoffer: victim, casualty [noun] [het slachtoffer, de slachtoffers].
– Gewonde: wounded/injured person [noun] [de gewonde, de gewonden].
– Gewond raken: to be/get injured/wounded [verb] [raakte gewond, gewond geraakt].
– Verwonden: to wound (deliberately), to injure (not deliberately) [verb] [verwondde, verwond].

Conditie

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condition, state, stamina, fitness 
[noun]
[de con-di-tie, de con-di-ties]

ConditieWhen a Dutch person says (s)he has a ‘bad condition’, (s)he most probably means that (s)he has ‘no stamina’ or is ‘in bad (physical) shape’. Often, ‘conditie’ in Dutch is used as a synonym for ‘voorwaarde’, in which case it refers to the terms or conditions that are part of an agreement or deal.

Note that when it regards ‘stamina’, ‘conditie’ can be used with both verbs ‘hebben’ and ‘zijn’: ‘in goede conditie zijn’, or: ‘een goede conditie hebben’.

Examples:
– “Sander probeert in goede conditie te blijven, dus na deze DWOTD gaat hij hardlopen.” 
(“Sander is trying to stay in shape, so after this DWOTD he will go running.”)

– “Dit huis is in (een) slechte conditie; ik zou er niet te veel voor bieden!” 
(“This house is in a poor state; I wouldn’t bid too much (for it)!”)

– “Na jaren gerookt te hebben, was de conditie van de man allerbelabberdst .” 
(“After having smoked for years, the man had zero stamina.” Note that the adjective ‘belabberd’ means something like ‘extremely bad’ (or: ‘rotten, lousy, rough’). The Dutch language allows for one more step in the sequence [noun]-[comparative]-[superlative], which is created by preceding the superlative with ‘aller’. So in this case ‘allerbelabberdst’ is really very very very bad.)

– “Te koop, in uitstekende conditie verkerende zeilboot. T.e.a.b.” 
(“For sale, sailing boat in excellent condition. Will accept any reasonable offer.” Note that the verb ‘verkeren’ in this case means ‘to be in’. The abbreviation ‘t.e.a.b.’ means ‘tegen elk aannemelijk bod’.)

– “Heb jij een goede of een slechte conditie?” 
(“Are you fit or unfit / off form / in bad shape?”)

– “Ok, ik ga akkoord, maar alleen onder/op de conditie dat we het verlies delen.” 
(“Ok, I agree, but only on (the) condition that we split/share the loss.”)

Related words:
– Voorwaarde: condition [noun] [de voorwaarde, de voorwaarden].
– Energie: energy [noun] [de energie, <no plural>].
– Fit: fit [adjective].
– Puf: energy, oomph [noun] [de puf, <no plural>].
– Sporten: to exercise (physically) [verb] [sportte, gesport]. Note that ‘sporten’ can be anything, exercise, fitness, practise a sport etc.

Verandering

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change, alteration, variety 
[noun]
[de ver-an-de-ring, de ver-an-de-rin-gen]

Verandering “Verandering” is pretty much like ‘change’ in English. However when somebody asks you for ‘change’ for the parking meter, you will be asked for ‘wisselgeld’ or ‘kleingeld’. Of course you can offer the person real change, by suggesting a bicycle 😉

Examples:
– “Verandering! Wij willen verandering!” 
(“Change! We want change!”)

– “Verandering? Verandering? Ik heb liever wisselgeld! (Om bier te kopen!)” 
(“Change? Change? I would rather have change! (To buy some beer!)”)

– “Om vooruitgang te boeken in het leven, moet je dingen veranderen.” 
(“In order to make progress in life, one has to make changes.”)

– “Sander is van plan een verandering aan te brengen in het DWOTD-format, alleen weet hij nog niet precies welke…” 
(“Sander is planning a change in the DWOTD format, however he does not yet know exactly what kind…”)

– “Ik vind deze verandering helemaal niks, kunnen we niet gewoon terug naar hoe het vroeger was? Je weet wel, voordat we onze productieve uren moesten bijhouden?” 
(“I don’t like this change one bit, can’t we just go back to old times? You know, before we had to keep track of our productive hours?”)

– “Hallo, met Lindsay, ik wil graag een verandering aanbrengen in de tekst, kun je even langskomen om het te bespreken?” 
(“Hi, this is Lindsay speaking, I would like to make a change in your text, can you drop by to discuss it?”)

– “De meeste mensen zijn bang voor verandering, dus mijn plan is om dit stiekem door te voeren…” 
(“Most people are afraid of change, so my plan is to go ahead with this surreptitiously…”)

Expressions:
– “Verandering van spijs doet eten”: change is good, variety is the spice of life. Lit. “change of food makes one eat.” Note that ‘spijs’ and ‘spijzen’ are old-fashioned.
– “Verandering van omgeving”: change of scenery. Lit. ‘surroundings’. 

Related words:
– Veranderen: to change [verb] [veranderde, veranderd].
– Aanpassen: to adapt to, adjust to [verb] [paste aan, aangepast]. Note that ‘aanpassen’ can also mean to try/fit on (of clothes).

Example:
– “Ik heb de broek aangepast in de winkel; ze zijn nu de lengte aan het aanpassen, en ik kan hem volgende week ophalen.”
(“I tried the pants / pair of trousers on in the store; they will adjust the length, and I can pick them up next week.”)

– Wisselgeld: change (money) [noun] [het wisselgeld, <no plural>].
– Anders: differently, otherwise [adverb].

De hele reutemeteut

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the whole lot, everything, the whole shebang 
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[de he-le reu-te-me-teut]

De_hele_reutemeteut You can use this informal phrase to indicate that you mean 'the whole lot'. It can cover things and people. In case of things, it's usually 'rubbish' or 'junk'. "Reutemeteut" is derived from "reut" ('jumble', 'bunch') which in its turn is related to the old Dutch noun 'rot', meaning 'row of soldiers'. German readers may recognize the word 'Rotte'. The original phrase was 'de hele reut', but both this phrase and 'reut' are not used anymore.

Examples:
– "Met wie was jij op Koninginnedag?" – "O, met Marieke, Roel, Bart-Jan, je weet wel, de hele reutemeteut." 
("Who were you with on Queen's day?" – "Oh, with Marieke, Roel, Bart-Jan, you know, the whole lot.")

– "We gaan het restaurant verbouwen." – "Wat ga je doen dan?" – "We gaan alles vernieuwen; de keuken, de tafels, nieuw behang, de hele reutemeteut." 
("We are going to renovate the restaurant." – "Well, what are you going to do?" – "We are going to renew everything; the kitchen, the tables, new wallpaper, the whole shebang.")

– "We moesten ons allemaal melden bij de directeur. Het ondersteunend personeel, de hogere managementlagen, het kantinepersoneel, de hele reutemeteut!" 
("We all had to report to the director. The supporting personnel, the higher management layers, the cantine staff, everybody!")

– "Schiet het op met het leegruimen van het huis?" – "Niet echt, we moeten van alles uitzoeken, maar het liefst zou ik de hele reutemeteut het raam uitgooien!" 
("Are you making progress cleaning out the house?" – "Not really, we have a lot to go through, but I would really like to just throw everything out of the window!")

Expressions:
– "De hele mikmak": like 'de hele reutemeteut' but then for things.
– "Alles en iedereen": one and all, all and sundry. Lit. "everything and everybody".

Related words:
– Troep: mess, junk, rubbish [noun] [de troep, <no plural>].
– Rommel: junk, rubbish [noun] [de rommel, <no plural>].