to be sickly, to be sick/ill/under the weather on and off [verb] [kwakkelde, gekwakkeld]

This verb is a bit difficult to translate but it is used when somebody is sick/ill on and off, not really recovering and falling ill again for a continuous period of time. However, it is only used in the context off flu, having a cold, feeling under the weather etc.

Examples:
– "Sander kwakkelt al de hele maand maart."
("Sander has been feeling under the weather on and off for the whole month March.")

– "Als ik moet kiezen tussen een keer goed ziek zijn, of continu kwakkelen, dan kies ik voor het eerste."
("If I had to choose between being really sick for once, or be sickly all the time, then I would choose the first.")

– "Man, al dat gekwakkel van jou; wat jij moet doen is een keer goed uitzieken!"
("Man, that continuous feeling under the weather of yours; what you should do is fully recover for once!" When you create a noun from a verb in English by adding "-ing", in Dutch you leave out the ‘-en’ and add ‘ge’ to the front, like "gekwakkel".)

Related words:
These words look similar but are actually unrelated in meaning:
– "Kwak": onomatopoeia for the "quacking" sound a duck makes. You will also hear "kwek" and the
verb "kwekken". Similarly "Donald Duck’s" three nephews are called "Kwik, Kwek en Kwak" in Dutch.
– "Kwakken": to bump, crash (flat on the floor/ground). Or: to dump, chuck or slap something onto something else.

Examples:
– "Marc was een beetje dronken en kwakte met fiets en al tegen de straat."
("Marc was a bit drunk and crashed with his bike flat on the street". Literally: "… with bike and all…")

– "Tea kwakte haar tas op het bureau."
("Tea smacked her bag down on the desk.")

– "Kwakje": very informal synonym for the noun "ejaculate".

shelf-stacker, stock / grocery clerk, stockboy [noun] [de vakkenvuller, de vakkenvullers]

Literally, "vakkenvuller" translates to "sections/compartments/shelfs filler". "Vakkenvuller" is not to be confused with "zakkenvuller" (literally: "pocket filler") which is an informal synonym for a profiteer.

Tradionally the "vakkenvullen" is performed by 15-18 year old teen-agers, and sometimes university students. Depending on the supermarket, it is partly done outside opening hours, even during the night.

Examples:
– "Vakkenvullers gezocht!"
("Wanted: stock clerks!")

– "Veel scholieren hebben een bijbaantje als vakkenvuller."
("Many school students/pupils have a job on the side as a stock clerk.")

– "Ik kan de pindakaas niet vinden. Ik vraag het wel even aan de vakkenvuller."
("I can’t find the peanutbutter. I’ll ask the stockboy.")

Related words:
– "Supermarkt": supermarket.
– "Spiegelen": the art of lining up the products near the front of the shelves, creating the illusion of fully stocked shelves. Literally: "mirroring".

rejection (in love) [noun] [het blauwtje, de blauwtjes]

"Blauwtje" is the diminutive form of "blauw", which translates to
"blue" (the colour). Hence, "blauwtje" literally translates to "little
blue one" and is in fact only used in the expression "een blauwtje
lopen". This expression is the informal equivalent of "to be turned
down/to be rejected" in the romantic sense. It literally translates to
"to walk a little blue one" (which does not make any sense, we admit).

Examples:
– "Toen Frank de Valentijnskaart op de bus deed, wist hij nog niet dat hij een blauwtje zou lopen."
("When Frank posted the card for Valentine, he did not know yet that he would be turned down.")

"Op de bus doen" is an expression for posting/mailing a letter (in
this context, "bus" is short for "brievenbus": postbox/mailbox.)

– "Sommige mannen vinden het niet erg om een blauwtje te lopen, en spreken op een avond tien vrouwen aan."
("Some
guys don’t mind to be turned down, and hit on ten women a night." The
verb "aanspreken" is used for approaching and talking to the person.)

– "De hemel is vandaag strak blauw."
("There’s not a cloud in the
sky today." The word "strak" literally means "tight" but in the
figurative sense it can also mean "flawless" or "immaculate".)

Related words:
– "Afwijzing": rejection.
–
"Liefdesverdriet hebben": to be disappointed in love (to feel
sad/depressed after a break-up) (literally: to have love’s sorrow).

dustbuster [noun] [de <kruimel><dief>, de kruimeldieven]

The word "kruimeldief" literally translates to "crumb thief" or "thief of crumbs". You can use it as a translation for a "petty thief", or – as we do in this DWOTD – as the name of one of those small hand-held battery powered vacuum cleaners.
Although "kruimeldief" is the most common word that is used for such a vacuum cleaner, in shops it will also be called a "kruimelzuiger" ("crumb sucker") or a "handzuiger" ("hand sucker" – whatever that means!).

Examples:
– "Je kunt een bank het makkelijkste stofzuigen met een kruimeldief."
("Vacuum cleaning a sofa with a dustbuster is the most convenient." Literally: "You can vacuum clean a sofa the easiest…")

– "Als een man met blote borst chips heeft gegeten, is het handig om het borsthaar met een kruimeldief te stofzuigen."
("When a man has eaten crisps/potato chips while being bare chested, it is convenient to vacuum clean the chest hair with a dustbuster." Literally: "… with bare chest…")

Related words:
– "Kruimelen": to crumble.
– "Stofzuiger": vacuum cleaner.

(rolling) walker / rollator rock [noun] [de rollatorrock]

By walker/rollator I mean one of those support racks with wheels that old people use to walk around.

As far as I know, this word was introduced a couple of years ago by a Dutch DJ, and it is used to ironically describe rock/pop music by bands that consist of mainly elderly people (or almost elderly).

Examples:
1. Ga je naar de Rolling Stones?? Dat is toch rollatorrock man!
(“Are you going to see the Rolling Stones?? Man, isn’t that rollatorrock!”)

2. Deze radiozender draait te veel rollatorrock.
(“This (broadcasting) station plays too much rollatorrock.”)