"Zat" is a word that can be used in several –
very different – meanings. Before you know it, you’re telling your boss
that you are drunk when you really want to say that you’re fed up with
your job 😉 See examples below to clarify things. And don’t get
confused: ‘zat’ is also the singular past tense of ‘zitten’ ("to sit"),
e.g. ‘ik zat, jij zat, hij/zij zat’ ("I sat, you sat, he/she sat"). 

1. drunk [adjective] [‘zat‘] 

"Zat" can be informally used as the word for "drunk" (or "drunken").

Examples:
– "Hij was niet gewoon zat, hij was ladderzat."
("He wasn’t just drunk, he was smashed.")

– "Zij kan niet tegen drank; na vier biertjes is ze al compleet zat."
("She doesn’t take alcohol (lit: booze) very well; she is completely drunk after four beers.")

Expression:
– "Zo zat zijn als een aap/kanon.": lit. to be as drunk as a monkey/cannon, this says you are
very drunk (‘drunk as a lord’).

Example:
– "Marc is zo zat als een aap!"

Related words:
– "Zatlap": a boozer, soak. A "lap" is like a piece of cloth.
– "Ladderzat": smashed, zonked.
– "Aangeschoten": tipsy.
– "Bezopen": drunk (informal).

2. fed up [adjective] [‘zat‘]

Examples:
– "Houd nou eens even je mond, ik ben je gezeur helemaal zat!"
("Please shut up for a moment, I’m totally fed up with your moaning!")

– "Ik stop ermee, ik ben het zat!"
("I quit, I’ve had enough (of it)!" Note it’s all in the word ‘het’
("it"). When you omit ‘het’ in this sentence, its meaning turns into
"I’m drunk".)

– "Fokke en Sukke zijn het zat: ‘Eén dag vrijzijn van meningsuiting, da’s toch
godverdomme niet te veel gevraagd!!!’ "
"Fokke en Sukke have had enough. ‘One day without (lit. ‘being free
of’) expression of opinion, that can’t be asking too bloody much!!!’"
(Fokke and Sukke – the two most famous (and infamous) Dutch ducks that appear in a
cartoon every day on the back page of Dutch national newspaper NRC
Handelsblad – are referring to the current Dutch debate on where
freedom of speech ends and irresponsible insults start.)

3. plenty, to spare [adverb] [‘zat‘]

Examples:
– "Je hoeft je niet te haasten, je hebt nog tijd zat."
("No need to rush, you have plenty of time left.")

– "Waarom zou je gaan werken? Dankzij die erfenis heb je toch geld zat!"
("Why would you work? After all, you have lots of money (to spare) thanks to that inheritance!")

This DWOTD was provided by guest author Laura.

annoying, bothersome, irritating [adjective] [
‘ie-rie-tant‘] 

“Irritant” is most often used to describe an annoying event, person or situation. It can also be used as an exclamation (see the examples). The word is similar to the English “irritant” but cannot be used in the same context everywhere. For example, the Dutch “irritant” cannot be used when describing allergic reactions or inflammation to flu ids or other substances. In these cases, you would use a construction with the Dutch verb “irriteren” (see Related words).

Less often you will hear “irritant” being used as an adverb. You can for example say “irritant goed” about somebody who annoys you by always excelling.

Examples:
– “Het is heel erg irritant dat ik iedere dag in de file sta…”
(“It’s really very annoying to be in a traffic jam every day…” Lit.: “…that I stand in a traffic jam…”.)

– “Hij weet altijd alles beter; hij is echt een irritant mannetje.”
(“He always knows things best; the guy is a real pain in the neck.” Lit: “He always knows everything better; he really is an annoying little man.”)

– “Door die stomme muis ben elke keer mijn cursor kwijt. Irritant!”
(<office language> “This stupid mouse makes me loose my cursor all the time. Annoying!”)

Related words:
– “Irriteren”: to irritate.

Examples:
– “De harde muziek irriteert me, ik kan niemand meer verstaan”.
(“The loud music is annoying me, I can’t hear anyone anymore”.)

– “Sanex irriteert je huid niet.”
(“Sanex does not irritate your skin.”)

– “Irritatie”: [noun] irritation, vexation.

Example:
“Haar continue klagen was de voornaamste bron van zijn irritatie.”
(“Her constant complaints were the main source of his vexation.”)

– “Irritatiegrens”: [noun] irritation threshold.

Example:
– “Ik luister niet meer naar je stomme opmerkingen, mijn irritatiegrens is bereikt.”
(“I won’t listen to your stupid remarks anymore, my irritation threshold has been reached.”)

Extra:
A mistake often made when using the verb “irriteren” in an active mode, is “ik irriteer me aan hem” (Lit: “I annoy me on him”). The correct way of saying this is: “hij irriteert mij” (“he annoys me”), since the verb “irriteren” always needs a direct object. A verb with a similar meaning as ‘irriteren’ is ‘ergeren’. This verb can be used in both ways, e.g. “hij ergert mij” and “ik erger me aan hem”, both translated as “he annoys me”.

This DWOTD was provided by guest author Laura.

nitpicker [noun] [de mierenneuker, de mierenneukers] [‘mie-run-neu-kur’]

This word is composed of “mieren” (“ants”) and “neuker” – derived from “neuken”. Originally “neuken” meant “to knock / thrust” but is currently only known in its translation of “to f*ck”. That’s why some people may consider “mierenneuker” to be foul language. Although its use is mostly informal, this word is not meant to have an offensive connotation. In fact, a man was acquited after charges were pressed against him for calling a traffic warden a “mierenneuker”, see also Extra.

The related verb is “mierenneuken”: to nitpick.

Examples:
– “Ik vind Frank een enorme mierenneuker!”
(“I think Frank is a huge nitpicker!”)

– “Als het gaat om de lay-out van een DWOTD post, kan Sander een echte mierenneuker zijn.”
(“When it comes to the layout of a DWOTD post, Sander can be a real nitpicker.”)

– “Het nastreven van orde en precisie kan toch niet als mierenneuken bestempeld worden?”
(“Striving for order and precision can’t be called nitpicking, can it now?” This sentence was obviously added by Sander 🙂 )

– “Wat ben jij een ongelofelijke mierenneuker!” – “Je bent zelf een verschrikkelijke zeur!”
(“You’re such an incredible nitpicker!” – “You’re a terrible sorehead yourself!.”)

Related words:
– “Muggenzifter”: (lit.: “mosquito sifter”) niggler, hairsplitter. Synonymous to “mierenneuker” but never considered rude.
– “Kommaneuker”: (lit.: “comma f*cker”) nitpicker. Synonymous to “mierenneuker”, and equally informal.

Extra:
Calling an overzealous traffic warden a “mierenneuker” is allowed in The Netherlands. This was the verdict of judge in Alkmaar. A driver had parked his car on the sidewalk for quickly withdrawing some cash from an ATM (“pinnen“). When the man got back to his car, a traffic warden was already writing out a fine (“bon“). The man got angry and called the traffic warden a “mierenneuker”, at which the traffic warden felt offended and threatened, so he had the driver arrested by the police. The driver refused to pay the 220 euro fine and went to court with it…
The judge decided that the driver was right! Based on the authorative Dutch dictionary Van Dale, he concluded that the word “mierenneuker” is not offensive. According to the judge, a “mierenneuker” or a “muggenzifter” is a person who is very meticulous at his job. The judge found the remark inappropriate, but the traffic warden coud have interpreted “mierenneuker” as a compliment too…

business card [noun] [het visitekaartje, de visitekaartjes] [‘vie-sie-tu-kaart-ju’]

"Visitekaartje" is composed of "visite" and "kaartje", which respectively translate to "visit" and "little card". Sometimes "visite" is left out, which would obviously translate to just "card".

"Visitekaartje" is also used in a figurative way: someone or something can be the "visitekaartje" of something, indicating a positive ambassador’s function, see the examples.

Examples:
– "Sander heeft DWOTD visitekaartjes ontworpen."
("Sander has designed DWOTD business cards.")

– "Mag ik u mijn kaartje aanbieden?"
("Can I offer you my card?")

– "Ik heb geen visitekaartjes meer, waar kan ik die laten drukken?"
("I’m out of business cards, where can I have them printed?")

– "Het Lange Voorhout is een van de visitekaartjes van Den Haag."
("The Lange Voorhout is one of The Hague’s frontpieces/highlights.")

Expression:
– "Je visitekaartje afgeven": literally to hand out your business card, this is said when you do something that makes you leave a good impression.

Extra:
The DWOTD business card: highly popular collector’s item 🙂