1. club, bat, stick [noun] [de knuppel, de knuppels]

A Dutch police officer carries the following weapons: a pistol, pepperspray, a stick, tear gas, and handcuffs. The official term for the stick is "wapenstok" – literally: weapon stick – but often the more informal "knuppel" is used. In general, "knuppel" is a round stick meant to swing at something (or someone…).
The related verb is "(neer)knuppelen": to club/beat (down), to bludgeon.

In the Netherlands, the police are allowed to use their weapons for defense only, except for the stick.

Examples:
– "De politieagent moest zijn knuppel gebruiken tegen de agressieve supporter."
("The police officer had to use his stick against the aggressive fan." Note that "agressief" has only one "g" in Dutch.)

– "Een aantal demonstranten werd neergeknuppeld door de politie."
("A number of protesters was beaten down by the police.")

– "Bij nachtelijke wegcontroles vindt de politie altijd veel messen en honkbalknuppels."
("During nightly traffic inspections, the police often find a lot of knives and baseball bats.")

Expression:
– "Een knuppel in het hoenderhok gooien": (literally: to throw the stick in the henhouse) to put the cat among the pigeons / to create a stir / chaos.

Extra:
During international sports events, Dutch supporters like to bring along all kinds of crazy attributes to help them support the Dutch team. This is a picture of an inflatable baseball bat.  The text reads: "Hup Holland" which translates to "Go Holland". The strange thing is that the word "hup" to cheer somebody on is only used in this alliteration. In all other circumstances it would be very archaic (however, it can be used to encourage somebody to hurry up a bit).

2. dork, dope, stupid person  [noun] [de knuppel, de knuppels]

In this context, "knuppel" is only used for men. The female equivalent would be "doos" (the very first DWOTD 🙂 ).

Examples:
– "Wat een knuppel!"
("What a dork!")

– "<vrouw:> ‘Wat ben jij een slome knuppel!’ <man:> ‘Nou, ik vind jou ook een saaie doos!’ "
("<woman:> ‘What a slow dork you are!’ <man:> ‘Well, I think you’re a boring stupid woman too!’ " or something like that…:-) )

to arrest [verb] [arresteerde, gearresteerd]

Although Samuel L. Jackson joked in "Pulp Fiction" that police offers in Amsterdam are not allowed to search you, they are definitely allowed to arrest you so be aware of that! 🙂 Actually, it is a bit more sophisticated than Samuel stated and there is a chance that you are searched by police without being a suspect, as a preventive measure. Traditionally the Dutch police have been quite tolerant but it seems this has changed recently with more police on the streets and the law actually being enforced. You will most likely notice this when riding your bike: no bike lights and biking through red lights is no longer tolerated!
In general the law has become a bit stricter in recent years, one of the biggest changes being the fact that one has to be able to show ID at all times. This led to protest by left-wing parties who argue that this will not lead to a decrease in crime and is in fact a violation of privacy.

Examples:
– "Agent, arresteer deze man!"
("Officer, arrest this man!")

– "Na een felle strijd heeft de politie 10 krakers gearresteerd."
("After a heavy battle, the police have arrested 10 squatters.")

– "Na een lange zoektocht heeft de politie de daders kunnen arresteren."
("After a long search, the police have been able to arrest the offenders.")

Related words:
– "Inrekenen": less common synonym for "arresteren".
– "Agent/e": police officer.
– "Arrestatie": arrest [noun].
– "Burgerarrest": citizen’s arrest. "Burger" translates to "citizen" (and to "burger" when you are at McDonald’s 🙂 ).
– "Straf": punishment, sentence.

fine, ticket [noun] [de bekeuring, de bekeuringen]

"Bekeuring" is used in the context of an authorized civil servant fining a person for violating the law, usually the police writing a ticket for breaking a traffic rule. Besides "bekeuring", the word "boete" is also often used to indicate a fine. A "boete" is a penalty in general, the difference with "bekeuring" in the above context is minimal though. In the context of football/soccer, the Dutch use the same word for "penalty", sometimes pronounced incorrectly though (by lower educated coaches 🙂 )

– "Ik heb dit jaar al drie bekeuringen gehad voor te hard rijden."
("This year I have already been fined three times for speeding." Literally: "…for driving too fast.")

Extra:
If one is stopped by a police officer for violating a traffic rule, the police officer always asks for the reason of your "bad" behaviour. Then he says that you are not obliged to answer. I (Sander) have never been able to determine why they want this information, since they just shrug or patronize you when you do tell them. One of our friends is infamous for giving rude, out-of-context, reasons. Consequently he is fined again, this time for insulting a police officer.
You never pay your fine on the spot, but you will get a receipt (some kind of "proof" of your crime). Then after a few weeks a letter will arrive with the fine which you will then have to pay by bank transfer.
Read more about Dutch traffic fines in the ‘Extra’ of DWOTD 127. Stoplicht.

special offer, sale [noun] [de aanbieding, de aanbiedingen]

"Aanbieding" is derived from the verb "aanbieden", which means "to offer". It is commonly used for items that are on special offer in supermarkets or department stores, see ‘Examples’.
Another common word you will encounter is "reclame" for "special offer". This word normally translates to "advertisement" or "commercial" depending on context.

Examples:
– "Aanbieding! Twee kilo bananen, van 2,30 voor 1,98!"
("Special offer! Two kilos of bananas, was 2.30, now 1.98!" Literally: "… from 2.30, for 1.98" Notice that in Dutch one uses commas to separate the cents from the whole euros.)

– "Deze week zijn de aardbeien in de aanbieding bij Albert Heijn."
("This week strawberries are on special offer / on sale at Albert Heijn.")

– "Ik denk dat ik een flatscreen TV ga kopen; ik heb een goede aanbieding gezien bij de Mediamarkt."
("I think that I’m going to buy a flat screen TV; I have seen a good offer at Mediamarkt.")

Related words:
– "Aanbieden": to offer.
– "In de reclame": on special offer, on sale (only for food products).
– "Uitverkoop": sale (mainly clothing shops).
– "OP=OP": this is used to encourage people to come down quickly and buy whatever is on sale, since it is expected that the item will be sold out soon (now, would there be some causal connection there?…) The word "op" in this case means "finished", as in "nothing left".

1. position [noun] [het standje, de standjes]

– "Als kinderen niet naar hun moeder luisteren, verdienen ze een standje."
("When children do not listen to their mother, they deserve a reprimand.")

Related word:
– "Waarschuwing": warning.