crime reporter [noun] [de misdaadverslaggever, de misdaadverslaggevers] [‘mis-daad-ver-slag-gee-vur’]

"Misdaadverslaggever" is composed of "misdaad" and "verslaggever". The first translates to
"crime", the latter to "reporter" (literally to "somebody who gives report").

The Netherlands have a famous "misdaadverslaggever": Peter R. de Vries. He used to be just a BN’er, but after – as he put it in his tv show about two weeks ago – "having solved the Natalee Holloway" case, he is now also a bit known in the USA. He appeared in Larry King’s show and a few other shows.

By the way, Peter R. de Vries is a very serious crime reporter and he has
solved a few big cases in the Netherlands, in one of them setting two men free from jail.

Examples:
– "Mijn vrouw is misdaadverslaggeefster en de laatste tijd is zij steeds minder vaak thuis ‘s avonds."
("My wife is a crime reporter and lately she is away in the evenings more and more." Lit. "and lately she is at home in the evenings less and less often".)

– "Ik vraag me af of misdaadverslaggever een populair beroep geworden is na het succes van Peter R. de Vries…"
("I wonder if the profession of crime reporter has become popular after the success of Peter R. de Vries…")

– "Weet jij nog meer misdaadverslaggevers dan Peter R. de Vries?"
("Do you know of more crime reporters than Peter R. de Vries?")

 Related words:
– "Journalist": journalist.
– "Crimineel": criminal [noun, adjective].
– "Verslag": report.
– "Verslaggeven": to report.

Extra:
Peter R. de Vries announced having solved the Natalee Holloway case a few days
before his television show on the Dutch tv channel SBS6. In the days prior to the broadcast, the hype grew and as a result more than 7 million Dutch watched his show: a new record for a
non-sports television programme.

So what was all the fuss about? The main suspect in the case, Joran
van der Sloot, basically didn’t open his mouth during interrogation by
the police. Peter R. de Vries got somebody to go undercover and pretend to be his friend
and this new ‘friend’ managed to get Joran to talk. One of the things
that was mocked a lot after the show was the funny Dutch Joran and his
‘friend’ spoke: a mix of Dutch, Papimiento (the spoken language of the
Netherlands Antilles) and local (Aruban) slang. Check out this youtube video to see a part of Joran’s confession.

And as is the usual case in the Netherlands, we talked about it for
a week and now we just ride our bicycles again. Joran van der Sloot has
not been arrested, because his ‘confession on tape’ was deemed inadmissible as evidence.

“Afzakkertje” generally stands for one last drink. Translation depends on context, see 1. and 2.
The verb “afzakken” literally translates to “to come/slide down”, so “een afzakkertje” would be “a little downslider”… 🙂

1. One for the road [noun] [het afzakkertje, de afzakkertjes] [‘af-zak-kur-tju’]

This translation is used in the context of having one last drink before leaving.

Examples:
– “Jongens, zullen we nog een afzakkertje doen in de Pijpela?”
(“Fellows/guys, shall we have one for the road in the Pijpela?” You can also say “een afzakkertje nemen”. The “Pijpela” is the only bar in the Hague that is open till late. And to many of you that might still not be late, but it is a whole lot better than the usual 1.30 AM!)

– “Gisteren is het niet bij één afzakkertje gebleven… en nu heb ik een enorme kater…”
(“Yesterday we had more than just one for the road… and now I have huge hangover…”)

2. Nightcap [noun] [het afzakkertje, de afzakkertjes] [‘af-zak-kur-tju’]

This translation is used in the context of having one last drink before going to bed.

Examples:
– “Liefie, wil je nog een afzakkertje voordat we naar bed gaan?”
(“Sweetie, would you like to have a nightcap before we go to bed?”)

Related words:
– “Drankje”: drink.
– “Neut”: drink, slam, drop.
– “Afzakken”: to come/slide down.

famous Dutchman/woman [noun] [de BN’er, de BN’ers] [‘bee-en-nur’]

“BN’er” is the abbrevation of “bekende Nederlander”: well-known or famous Dutchman/Dutchwoman. The word means exactly what is says: if you are famous or well-known by the general Dutch public and you are Dutch, then you are a “BN’er”. Read more about “BN’ers” in the Extra below.
The photo shows BN’ers Jeroen van der Boom, René Froger and Gordon.
(Photo: “De Toppers 2009” by Daniel Kruczynski – De Toppers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.)

The Dutch will also frequently speak of “bekende Nederlander” instead of using “BN’er”.

Examples:
– “En, waren er nog bekende Nederlanders?”
(“And, were there any famous Dutch people present?”)

– “Ik word ziek van al die BN’ers op tv, alsof mij dat wat kan boeien!”
(“I’m sick of all those famous Dutch people on tv, as if I care!”)

– “De groep met BN’ers heeft gisteren redelijk gescoord in de ‘Nationale IQ test’.”
(“The
group of “BN’ers” scored reasonably well in yesterday’s “National IQ
test’.” Last night the “Nationale IQ test” (national IQ test) was on TV
and
the audience was divided into a number of groups (representing
professions or social societies / sport clubs) and one of the groups
was the group with “BN’ers”. The lowest scoring “BN’er” was Jody Bernal
(96), the highest the politician Diederik Samson (136).)

Related words:
– “Beroemd”: famous.
– “Bekend”: famous or well-known. Also: familiar.
– “Acteur/actrice”: actor/actress.

Extra:
Abroad “BN’ers” are mostly unknown apart from some actors or
directors (for example Famke Janssen, Rutger Hauer and Paul Verhoeven) and the few who
have managed to cross the Dutch-German border (such as Rudi Carrell and
Linda de Mol).
Most “BN’ers” are known from television and live pretty close to the
television studios in Hilversum and Aalsmeer. The region where many
rich “BN’ers” live is called “Het Gooi”, and is roughly located in
between Amsterdam and Utrecht. Many contestants in television shows such as “Big Brother” and its rip-off “De gouden kooi” (The golden cage), “Idols” and “Holland’s next topmodel” hope to become a “BN’er”.
On the other hand, a lot of recent television shows try to make “BN’ers” even more famous by having them participate in dance or ice-dancing contests (“Dancing with stars“, “Sterren dansen op het ijs”, etc.) or reality-tv shows, for example with the singer Frans Bauer. Then we have the usual gossip programs on TV (for example RTL Boulevard and just about every Dutch-spoken show on commercial channel SBS6).

Recently, “BN’ers” have started to increase their fame by publishing
magazines carrying their name: Linda de Mol was the first one.
If you want to read everything about “BN’ers”, your hairdresser could be the place to be; while waiting you can read all the gossip
magazines that you don’t have at home (Privé and Story are the most
well-known ones). Or try the newspaper “De Telegraaf“; it is still the best sold newspaper in the country, and coincidentally also contains most gossip.

"Koekoek" is the Dutch word for the cuckoo, the bird with the characteristic sound, which you will also hear in the famous cuckoo clock.

But… after checking the dictionary, "koekoek" is also an obsolete word for "devil", "hell" or "deuce"… So we too learn something new about Dutch every once in a while 🙂

Instead of "Dank je de koekoek" you may also see the variations "Dat dank(t) / haal(t) je de koekoek!". All literally translate to something like "That thanks/gets you the devil!". The phrase can be used in two contexts, see 1. and 2.

1. I bet! / I daresay …! [Dutch phrase of the week]

Examples:
– "Ik heb koude handen…" – "Dank je de koekoek! Het vriest buiten en je hebt geen handschoenen aan!"
("My hands are cold…" – "I bet! It’s freezing outside and you’re not wearing gloves!")

– "Ik voel een lichte paniek opkomen." -" Dank je de koekoek! Een speech voor 1000 mensen geven is niet niks!"
("I feel a mild panic breaking through." – "I daresay you do! Giving a speech in front of a 1000 people is really something." Lit.: "…in front of a 1000 people is not nothing!")

2. Not on your life! / you won’t catch me doing that! / no way! [Dutch phrase of the week]

Example:
– "Liefie, wil jij even sigaretten halen?" – "Ja dank je de koekoek! Het regent pijpenstelen!"
("Sweetie, will you go get me some cigarettes?" – "No way, it’s raining cats and dogs!")

climate neutral [adjective] [‘klie-maat-neu-traal‘]

The use of the word “klimaatneutraal” has become very popular this year. In fact, it has become so popular in the Dutch language that it has been nominated for “Woord van het jaar 2007” (Word of the year 2007).

The term “klimaatneutraal” is used to qualify products and organizations that do not have a negative impact on our climate by not producing gases that cause global warming, such as CO2, or by compensating these gases, for example by planting trees.

“Klimaatneutraal” is composed of “klimaat” and “neutraal”, which translates to “climate/clime” and “neutral” respectively.

Examples:
– ” ‘Klimaatneutraal’ is genomineerd voor het Woord van het jaar 2007.”
(” ‘Klimaatneutraal’ has been nominated for the Word of the year 2007.”)

– “Sinds de film van Al Gore zijn woorden als ‘CO2-uitstoot’ en ‘klimaatneutraal’ erg populair geworden.”
(“Since Al Gore’s movie, words such as ‘CO2 emission’ and ‘climate neutral’ have become very popular.”)

– “Bent u al klimaatneutraal? Vraag nu subsidie aan bij de overheid om uw huis te isoleren!”
(“Are you climate neutral already? Apply now for a government subsidy to insulate your house!” Note the use of the verb “aanvragen”: to apply for.)

Related words:
– “Klimaat”: climate, clime.
– “Neutraal”: neutral.
– “Weer“: weather.
– “Broeikaseffect”: greenhouse effect, global warming.