1. apron
[noun]
[de/het schort, de schor-ten]

An old-fashioned Dutch dinner consists of one simple course: beans or potatoes, meat and vegetables (see also Extra). Simple or not, there’s always the risk of spilling food on your clothes and making a bit of mess in the kitchen. That’s where an apron comes in handy, in Dutch a “schort“.

The plural “schorten” is also a verb, see 2. below.

Examples:
– “Er zit een vlek op mijn schort.” 
(“There’s a stain on my apron.”)

– “Mensenkinderen, wat een troep in de keuken!! Waar is mijn schort?” 
(“My goodness, what a mess in the kitchen!! Where’s my apron?”)

Related words:
– Vlek : stain, spot, smudge [noun] [de vlek, de vlekken].
– Koken: 1. to boil [verb] [koken, kookte, h. gekookt]. 2. to cook [verb] [koken, kookte, h. gekookt].

Example:
– “Wel? Kan je nieuwe vriend een beetje koken?”  – “Jazeker, Mark is echt geweldig!”
(“Well? Can your new boyfriend cook (a bit)?”  – “Absolutely, Mark’s really great!”)

– Knoeien: to mess, to spill, to [verb] [knoeien, knoeide, h. geknoeid].

Extra:
The Dutch cuisine is not too ambitious and quite nutritious by intention. It is inspired by the Dutch fishing and farming history. Nowadays, Dutch cuisine has incorporated many foreign cuisines. For more info, check this article on Wikipedia.

2. to lack, to come short
[verb]
[schor-ten, schort-te, h. ge-schort]

In this context, “schorten” is usually combined with the preposition “aan”: “schorten aan”, which translates to “to come short of”, see the Examples.

Examples:
– “In deze wereld schort het aan mensen met een visie op de toekomst!” 
(“This world lacks people with a vision on the future!”)

– “Het schort de mensen van het Rode Kruis aan medicatie, veel slachtoffers moeten hoesten en overgeven.” 
(“The people of the Red Cross are coming short of medication, many victims have to cough and vomit.”)

Expressions:
–
“Wat schort eraan?”: what’s the matter? / What’s wrong?
– “Wat is er aan de hand?“: what’s the matter? / what’s going on?

Related words:
– Mankeren: to be wrong, to lack [verb] [mankeren, mankeerde, h. gemankeerd].
– Schaars: scarce [adjective].

trunk
[noun]

[de slurf, de slur-ven]

The trunk of an elephant is called a "slurf" in Dutch. The elongated appendage from the head of an insect (proboscis) is also called a "slurf" in Dutch.

Sometimes, objects with a trunk-like shape are also referred to as "slurf". For example, the jet bridge, connecting a terminal gate straight to an airplane, is also called a "slurf" in Dutch.

Examples:
– "De snuit van een olifant wordt een slurf genoemd." 
("The snout of an elephant is called a trunk.")

– "De slurf van een olifant is heel gevoelig." 
("The trunk of an elephant is very sensitive.")

– "De bolletjesslikker werd gearresteerd in de vliegtuigslurf." 
("The drug balloon swallower was arrested in the jet bridge.")

Related words:
– Olifant: elephant [noun] [de olifant, de olifanten].
– Slagtand: tusk [noun] [de slagtand, de slagtanden].
– Neus: nose [noun] [de neus, de neuzen].

sanctimonious
[adjective]

[schijn-hei-lig]

“Schijnheilig” is composed of “schijn” and “heilig”, which respectively translate to “appearance” and “holy”. Hence people who are “schijnheilig” keep up the appearance to be holy, while they’re not 🙂

Related adjectives are “hypocriet” and “huichelachtig”. Both are translated with “hypocritical”.

Examples:
– “Er zijn veel schijnheilige mensen in de wereld.” 
(“There are a lot of sanctimonious people in the world.”)

– “De huldiging van de voormalige minister-president was een schijnheilige vertoning. Hij heeft het land in een ernstige crisis gebracht.” 
(“The honouring of the former prime-minister was a hypocritical show. He has brought the country into a serious crisis.”)

Expressions:
– “Mooi weer spelen”: to pretend nothing has happened/everything is fine, to put on a show of
friendliness.

Example:
– “Wat een schijnheilig optreden
van Frank vanochtend. Hij klaagt altijd, maar naar zijn baas speelt hij
mooi weer.”

(“What a sanctimonious
performance by Frank this morning. He’s always complaining, but towards
his boss he pretends everything is fine.”)

 – “Schone schijn”: keeping up appearances. (See also Extra)

Related words:
– Schijn: 1. appearance, semblance [noun] [de schijn, <no plural>]. 2. shine [noun] [de schijn, <no plural>].
– Heilig: holy [adjective].

Example:
– “De Heilige Maagd Maria.”
(“The Holy Virgin Mary.”)

– Hypocriet: 1. hypocrite [noun] [de hypocriet, de hypocrieten]. 2. hypocritical [adjective].
– Huichelen: to simulate, to feign [verb] [huichelen, huichelde, h. gehuicheld].
– Huichelachtig: hyporcritical [adjective].
– Veinzen: to feign [verb] [veinzen, veinsde, h. geveinsd].