301. Van heb ik jou daar

of formidable size, huge, very big/large [Dutch Phrase Of The Week]

"Van heb ik jou daar" literally translates to "from I’ve got you there", which does not make any sense really…:-) You could say that "van heb ik jou daar" – as a whole – has the function of an adjective, used behind the noun. Its use is mostly informal.

Examples:
– "Ik stond vanochtend in een file van heb ik jou daar! Minstens 10 km…"
("This morning I was in a huge traffic-jam! At least 10 km…" Lit. "I was standing in…")

– "Leuk feestje zaterdag! Ik had zondag een kater van heb ik jou daar…"
("Nice party Saturday! I had a very big hangover on Sunday…")

– "Ach man, het was een gedoe van heb ik jou daar!"
("Man, it was a huge fuss!")

293. Bullebak

bully, ogre, browbeater [noun] [de bullebak, de bullebakken] [‘bu-lu-bak’]

Although "bully" can be used for both children and adults in English, "bullebak" is nearly always used in relation to adults. A "bullebak" is more a rude/uncivilized person (usually male) than the typical "bully" giving other school children a hard time. In case of the latter, "pestkop" is a better translation (see Related words).

Examples:
– "Wat een bullebak is die kerel! Moet je kijken hoe hij z’n vrouw behandelt…"
("That guy is a real bully! Look at how he treats his wife…" Lit.: "Must you look how…")

– "Kinderen die een bullebak van een vader hebben, pesten op school vaak andere kinderen."
("Children who have a browbeater of a dad, often bully other kids at school.")

– "Frank gedroeg zich weer eens als een echte bullebak tijdens de vergadering. Hij zat de hele tijd te schreeuwen tegen iedereen."
("Once again Frank acted like a real bully during the meeting. He was yelling at everybody all the time.")

Related words:
– "Pestkop": pest, nuisance, bully, from "pesten" and "kop" (informal synonym for "head").
– "Pesten": to badger, to bully.

289. Lanterfanten

to lounge (about /  around), to loaf (about /  around), to idle, to do nothing [verb] [lanterfantte, gelanterfant] [‘lan-tur-fan-tun’]

"Lanterfanten" is often used in combination with verbs as "liggen" (lie), "zitten" (sit), "lopen" (walk), which – in Dutch – are typically used to express an ongoing activity.

Another way of expressing an ongoing activity is to use (a conjugation of) the verb "zijn" + "aan het" + infinitive, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Frank was gisteren op het werk alleen maar aan het lanterfanten."
("Yesterday, Frank was just loafing about at work".)

– "Zit niet zo te lanterfanten man, ga iets doen met je leven!"
("Don’t just sit and do nothing man, do something with you life!")

– "De jeugd van tegenwoordig loopt alleen maar te lanterfanten."
("These youngsters are just lounging about nowadays." Lit.: "The youth from nowadays…" See also Extra.)

Related words:
– "Lanterfant": loafer.
– "Luieren": to laze.

Extra:
"De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig" is a Dutch rap formation, known from their number one hit Watskeburt?! in 2005. "Watskeburt" is a transformation of "Wat is (er) gebeurd?", pronounced with an English accent, lit.: "What’s happened?". "Watskeburt" can actually be seen as the Dutch equivalent of "Wazzup?" / "Wassup?"  🙂

287. Opkalefateren

to patch up, to do/perk (oneself) up [verb] [kalefaterde op, opgekalefaterd] [‘op-kaa-lu-faa-tu-run’]

We admit "opkalefateren" looks a bit strange. Its use in the Dutch language is quite common though: to express the activity of rendering a subject that is in some kind of messy state into a more patched up state. The verb can be used with both objects and persons, and can also be used in the reflexive form "zich opkalefateren": to do/perk oneself up.

Examples:
– "Frank heeft gisteren geprobeerd zijn oude fiets op te kalefateren, maar heeft daarin jammerlijk gefaald."
("Frank tried to patch up his old bike yesterday but failed miserably (in doing so)." The word "daarin" refers to the activity, hence the optional "in doing so".)

– "Schat, we moeten ons nog even opkalefateren, we moeten over een half uurtje weg!"
("Honey, we have to do/perk ourselves up now, we need to go in half an hour!")

– "Met drie hechtingen en een drukverband werd de soldaat opgekalefaterd en teruggestuurd naar het front."
("With three stitches and a pressure bandage the soldier was patched up and sent back to the front.")

– "De gemeente beraadt zich nog over een potentiële sloop van de woningen, want opkalefateren wordt ook als reële optie beschouwd."
("The municipality is still deliberating over the possible demolition of the houses, because patching up is also considered a realistic option.")

Expression:
– "Al draagt een aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding": an ape’s an ape, a varlet’s a varlet, though they be clad in silk or scarlet. Lit.: "Even though an ape may wear a golden ring, it is and will remain an ugly thing."

Related word:

– "Oplappen": to patch up.

286. Wegbonjouren

to send (someone) packing/away, to get rid of somebody, to kick (someone) out  [verb] [bonjourde weg, weggebonjourd] [‘weg-bon-zjoe-run’]

To all French readers: yes, there is the word "bonjour" in "wegbonjouren". Quite a few French words are used regularly in Dutch, but "bonjour" itself is not common although you might find it in the dictionary.

We created a verb by adding -en: "bonjouren" and it can mean "to greet", but then this is never used either 🙂 However, "wegbonjouren" you may encounter. "Weg" means "away" and so this verb is used to informally say that someone is sent packing/away or just plainly "kicked out".

Examples:
– "Reeds na twee dagen werd de stagair door zijn baas weggebonjourd."
("Already after two days, the intern was sent packing by his boss.")

– "De buurman is weer op de koffie… Het lukt me nooit hem weg te bonjouren!"
("The neighbour is over for coffee again… I never succeed in just sending him away!")

– "Daar heb je die glazenwasser weer. Kun jij hem even wegbonjouren?"
("There is that window-cleaner again. Can you get rid of him?")

– "Na de vergadering heeft Frank de twee consultants nog voor de lunch weten weg te bonjouren."
("After the meeting Frank was able to send the consultants away before lunch." This sentence shows an interesting example of the usage of "weten". Usually this means "to know", but can mean "to be able to" in constructions with "hebben" + "weten" + "te" + "infinitive".)

– "Gisteren liep ik over straat en werd ik lastiggevallen door een zwerver, maar de politie bonjourde hem weg."
("Yesterday I was walking down the street and was bothered by a bum/tramp, but the police sent him away." Note that "lastiggevallen" is the past participle of "lastigvallen".)

Related word:
– "Wegsturen": to send away (somebody).