cutlery [noun] [het bestek; ‘bu-stek’]

Examples of "bestek":
1. "Mes": knife.
2. "Vork": fork.
3. "Lepel": spoon.
4. "Theelepel(tje)": tea spoon.
5. "Dessertlepel": dessert spoon.
6. "Bij elke gang hoort nieuw bestek."
("Each course requires new cutlery." Also see 19. Gang.)

"Bestek" is also used to indicate a period of time (with reference):

Examples:
1. "Binnen dit tijdsbestek is het niet mogelijk."
("Within this timeframe it is not possible.")

2. "Binnen het bestek van 3 jaar wordt het project afgerond."
("In the space of 3 years the project will be finished.")

little whistle [noun, diminutive] [het fluitje, de fluitjes]

Although the word "fluitje" literally translates to "little whistle", it is also used to denote a certain type of beer glass. The shape of the glass is a slender, slightly curved cylinder with a volume of 0.2 liter. In the south of the Netherlands bars tend to use a "fluitje" as the standard beer glass, but in the "Randstad" (see ‘Extra’ below) it is more common to serve a bigger type of beer glass, see ‘Related words’.

Examples:
1. "Toen de spits werd getackled, blies de scheids onmiddellijk op zijn fluitje."
("When the forward (soccer player) was tackled, the referee immediately blew his (little) whistle.")

2. <in a bar> "Vier fluitjes alsjeblieft!"
("Four fluitjes please!")

3. "Hoe ging je wiskunde examen? Man, het was een fluitje van een cent!"
("How did your math exam go? Man, it was a piece of cake!"
Literally: it was a cent’s little whistle!" Also see "DWOTD (22): Ei" for an equivalent expression.)

Related words:
1. "Vaasje": literally "little vase", but more commonly used to denote another type of beer glass, larger than a "fluitje". Also known as "een randje" (a little edge, because it usually has a thin golden line on the top edge), or "een Amsterdammertje" ("a little man from Amsterdam").

Warning: there is a bit of a vendetta between Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
Hence, never order an "Amsterdammertje" in Rotterdam, but always order a "vaasje".

2. "Pul": tankard, mug.

Extra:
1. Randstad: the agglomeration in the west of the Netherlands at the ‘edge’ (‘rand’) of the country. It consists of the four largest cities, and the surrounding areas.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randstad.

2. About the head of foam with which beer in The Netherlands is always served:
The head of foam should be two fingers high. The consumption time of one glass is determined by an adequate balance between the shrinkage of the foam and the remaining fluid.

When the foam has disappeared completely before the glass is empty, and the beer is already getting luke, it is said that the beer is "doodgeslagen" (deadbeat). The risk of a deadbeat beer is higher when the volume of the beer glass increases. For this reason beer connaisseurs often consider drinking from "fluitjes" more tasteful than drinking from "vaasjes". One who is only preoccupied with the mere consumption of volume, obviously goes for the "vaasje".

polar bear [noun] [de ijsbeer, de ijsberen]

Literally this word translates to ‘ice bear’ and that’s why you might hear a Dutch person use this word mistakenly.

The word ‘ijs’ is also used for ‘ice cream’. An ice lolly (popsicle), or a single cone of ice cream, is called an ‘ijsje’ (diminutive).

It is common in the Dutch language to create a verb from a noun by adding ‘en’. In this case, the verb is ‘ijsberen’. ‘Ijsberen’ is the activity of pacing up and down the room, aimlessly and lost in thought. This verb is derived from the behaviour of polar bears in captivity.

Examples:
1. "De professor ijsbeerde door de kamer."
("The professor paced up and down the room.")

2. "Ik hou van walnootijs."
("I like walnut ice cream.)

3. <At McDonald’s> "Een sundae-ijsje alstublieft!"
("One sundae ice cream please!")

10 (guilder) cents coin [noun, diminutive] [het dubbeltje, de dubbeltjes]

In Dutch ‘dubbel’ means ‘double’. The diminutive ‘dubbeltje’ translates to something like ‘small double’ which of course does not make a whole lot of sense.

The word ‘dubbeltje’ was the name of the small 10 cents coin that we had during the era of the Dutch guilder (an era deeply missed by many of us 😉 ).
It is ‘dubbel’ the 5 cents coin, and it is a tiny coin. Hence: dubbeltje.

After the introduction of the euro, some Dutch people have started to call the 10 Euro cents coin a ‘dubbeltje’. But this is obviously wrong and a sad attempt to make up for lost times.

A few sayings with ‘dubbeltje’:
1. “Zo zie je maar weer hoe een dubbeltje rollen kan.”

Translates to something like: “Once more you see/realize how a dubbeltje can roll.”

This saying is to describe the role of fate/chance in events.

2. “Voor een dubbeltje op de eerste rij willen zitten.”
(“To want to be in the first row (of a theatre) for a ‘dubbeltje’ “.)

This means that you want to get the best without spending money, or putting any effort in it.

Example: “Hij wil voor een dubbeltje op de eerste rij zitten.”

Did you know:

The CD was invented by Dutchman Kees Immink at the Philips research labs here in the Netherlands. As part of the final design he had to decide on the diameter of the hole in the middle of the CD. Since he didn’t know what to choose, he took a dubbeltje out of his wallet and decided it would be a perfect choice. If you ever find a dubbeltje: it is funny to see how it is a ‘perfect fit’.