bastion, bulwark, stronghold  

[noun]
[het bol-werk, de bol-wer-ken]

"Bolwerk" has exactly the same meaning as the English "bulwark": literally, it’s a wall of earth or other material built for defence. It’s also used to denote a defence or safeguard. In its figurative sense, it  points to a high concentration of people who have certain similar views or characteristics. In Dutch, the verb related to "bolwerk" is "bolwerken", which means something like "to cope with" or "to manage".

Examples:
– "Vanuit de bolwerken werden de Nederlandse steden vroeger verdedigd." 
("In the old days, Dutch cities were defended from the bulwarks.")

– "De projectontwikkelaar heeft nieuwe appartementen gebouwd aan het Servaasbolwerk in Utrecht." 
("The real estate developer has built new apartments on the Servaasbulwark in Utrecht ." Note that "Servaasbolwerk" is the name of a street in Utrecht referring to the building that was located there.)

– "Die stad is een bolwerk van kustenaars." 
("That city is a bulwark of artists.")

– "<Plaatje:> Een bolwerk van goede smaak." 
("<Picture:> A bulwark of good taste.")

– "Het is moeilijk ertussen te komen als vrouw: het is een echt mannenbolwerk." 
("It’s difficult to get a position there if you’re a woman: it’s a bulwark of men.")

– "Ik heb twee deadlines en mijn computer is net vastgelopen: ik kan het niet meer bolwerken." 
("I have two deadlines and my computer just crashed: I can’t cope with it any more.")

– "Heb je het te druk of kun je het nog wel bolwerken?" 
("Are you too busy or are you able to manage?")

Related words:
– Bolwerken: to cope with, to manage [verb] [bolwerlen, bolwerkte, h. gebolwerkt].
– Aankunnen: to be able to deal with [verb] [aankunnen, kon aan, h. aangekund].
– Zenuwachtig: nervous [adjective].

nonsense, bollocks
[noun]
[de la-rie-koek, <no plural>]

"Lariekoek" is synonymous to "onzin", although it is slightly more informal and a bit slang. Even more informal and a bit vulgar is the synonymous "gelul", which translates to "bullsh*t.

Sometimes you may see the short version: "larie": bull.

Examples:
– "Ik snap niet waarom ik weer 5 kilo meer weeg…" – "Lariekoek! Van lucht word je niet dik!"
("I don’t understand why I’ve gained another 10 pounds…" – "Bollocks! Air doesn’t make you fat!")

– "Gisteren weer een debat in de Tweede Kamer over integratie…ik heb nog nooit zo veel larie gehoord." 
("Another debate in the House of Representatives about integration…I’ve never heard so much bull.")

– "Van boos kijken krijg je rimpels." – "Lariekoek."
("Putting on an angry face causes wrinkles." – "Nonsense." Lit.: "From looking angry, you’ll get wrinkles.")

Expressions:
– "Gelul in de ruimte": Loose talk, nonsense.

Related words:
– Koek: cake [noun] [de koek, de koeken].
– Onzin: nonsense [noun] [de onzin, <no plural>].
– Flauwekul: nonsens [noun] [de faluwekul, <no plural>].
– Gelul: bullsh*t [noun] [het gelul, <no plural>].
– Geouwehoer: rubbish, (load of) crap, bullsh*t [noun] [het geouwehoer, <no plural>].

Example:
– "De kredietcrisis is de schuld van een wereldwijd financieel-militair complex." – "Geouwehoer!"
("The financial crisis is to be blamed on a global financial-military complex." – "Bullsh*t!")

– Kletskoek: waffle, twaddle, rubbish (talk), crap [noun] [de kletskoek, <no plural>].

– Kletspraat: waffle, twaddle, rubbish (talk), crap [noun] [de kletspraat, <no plural>].
– Kletsen: to chat [verb] [kletsen, kletste, gekletst].

Extra:
Apparently, "lariekoek" is also some kind of cake :-). You can find the recipe (in Dutch) here.

bottle scraper
[noun]
[de fles-sen-lik-ker, de fles-sen-lik-kers]

"Flessenlikker" is composed of "fles" and "likker, which respectively translate to "bottle" and "licker", hence "bottle licker". The "flessenlikker" is actually a kitchen tool, which has become a bit obsolete
nowadays. A "flessenlikker" is/was used to scrape a bottle of yogurt or pudding completely empty. A nice example of Dutch economy 🙂

Instead of bottles, pudding and yogurt comes in packs now. Most youngsters will have never heard of a "flessenlikker"…

Examples:
– "Waar is de flessenlikker? Deze fles yoghurt is bijna leeg." 
("Where is the bottle scraper? This bottle of yogurt is almost empty.")

– "Heb jij de flessenlikker gezien?" – "Een flessenlikker, wat ouderwets!" 
("Have you seen the bottle scraper?" – "A bottle scraper, that’s old-fashioned!")

– "De flessenlikker…een geniale uitvinding! Jammer dat er geen flessen meer gebruikt worden voor yoghurt of pudding…" 
("The bottle scraper…a brilliant invention! Too bad that bottles are no longer used for yogurt or pudding…")

Related words:
– Fles: bottle [noun] [de fles, de flessen].
– Likken: to lick [verb] [likte, gelikt].

Example:
– "De hond likte de hand van zijn baasje."
("The dog licked his master´s hand.")

– Schrapen: to scrape [verb] [schraapte, geschraapt].

Expressions:
– "De keel schrapen": to clear one´s throat. Lit.: to scrape one’s throat.

Extra:
For more information on the bottle scraper, see Wikipedia.

exposed butt crack of a construction worker [noun] [het bouw-vak-kers-de-col-le-té, de bouw-vak-kers-de-col-le-tés]

“Bouwvakkersdecolleté” is composed of “bouwvakker” and “decolleté”, which respectively translate to “construction worker” and “cleavage” 🙂 It is an informal term for an exposed butt crack, not necessarily of a construction worker, but any person – usually male though – whose butt crack is showing when their pants are too low…

Because “bouwvakkersdecolleté” not only applies for just construction workers, this may be omitted in the translation: so merely “exposed butt crack”, or “butt crack that’s showing” will do.

Examples:
– “Een bouwvakkersdecolleté is onfatsoenlijk!” 
(“An exposed butt crack is indecent!”)

– “Toen Frank voorover bukte, had hij een bouwvakkersdecolleté…”
(“When Frank leaned forward, his butt crack was showing…”)

– “Dat meisje heeft een bouwvakkersdecolleté, en ook nog een aarsgewei! Schandalig!” – “Vind je? Ik vind dat juist erg sexy.”
(“That girl’s butt crack is showing, and she has an ass cap too! Outrageous!” – “You think so? I think that’s actually quite sexy.”)

Related words:
– Bilnaad: butt crack [noun] [de bilnaad, de bilnaden].
– Blotebillengezicht: pudding face [noun] [het blotebillengezicht, de blotebillengezichten].
– Billenknijper: bottom squeezer [noun] [de billenknijper, de billenknijpers].
– Bil: buttock [noun] [de bil, de billen].

Example:
– “De baby zat met zijn blote billetjes in het zand.”
(“The baby sat with his bare (little) buttocks/bottom in the sand.”)

unpleasant, distasteful, sordid [adjective]

"Onverkwikkelijk" is quite formal and has a negative connotation. The synonymous "naar" (unpleasant) and "vervelend" (unfortunate) are less formal, but sometimes it’s just fun to use a formal word;-)

Examples:
– "Herinner je je nog dat seksschandaal?"- "Ja, een onverkwikkelijke affaire…"

("Do you still remember that sex scandal?" – "Yes, a sordid affair…")

– "Ober, er zit een vlieg in mijn soep."  – "Dat is uitermate onverkwikkelijk meneer. Mijn nederige excuses."
("Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup." – "That is most unpleasant sir. My humble apologies.")

– "Jongen, ik ben bezig met een gedicht voor pakjesavond, wat rijmt op ‘verschrikkelijk‘ ?" – "Nou, wat denk je van ‘onverkwikkelijk’ ?"
("Dude,
I’m working on a poem for Sinterklaas evening, what rhymes with
‘verschrikkelijk’ ?  – "Well, how about ‘onverkwikkelijk’ ?")

Related words:
– Vervelend: unfortunate, annoying [adjective].
– Naar: unpleasant [adjective].

Example:
– "Wat een nare man, die billenknijper."
("What an unpleasant man, that bottom squeezer.")