scoundrel, rascal, villain [noun] [de boef, de boe-ven]

Another word for “boef” is “schurk”. The word “boef” however can also take on the meaning of “lawbreaker”. In both translations it is a bit of an old-fashioned word but there is an expression you should know about (see below). Also, the diminutive “boefje” can be used for naughty, mischievous children.

Examples:
– “De Disneyfiguur “Black Pete” heet in het Nederlands “Boris Boef”.” 
(“The Disney character “Black Pete” is called “Boris Boef” in Dutch.”)

– “Ik vraag me af wat er later van het buurjongetje terecht zal komen; hij is nu al een echt boefje.”
(“I wonder what will later become of the boy next-door; he is already quite a scamp.”)

Expressions:
– “Ga (toch) boeven vangen!”: literally “go catch lawbreakers/thieves/etc.”, this expression can be used by people who are fined by the police for a (in their opinion) trivial violation of the law, and who feel that the police should focus on the real bad guys. The ministry of Justice is now actively asking the general public for help with finding wanted criminals on the web site www.boevenvangen.nl .

Related words:
– Schurk: scoundrel, villain [noun] [de schurk, de schurken]. See also DWOTD Schurkenstaat.
– Politie: police [noun] [de politie, <no plural>].

roof [noun] [het dak, de da-ken]

Examples:
– "Het dak lekt…" 
("The roof is leaking…")

– "Kom van dat dak af!" 
("Get off that roof immediately!" See Extra.)

– "Ons huis heeft een plat dak." 
("Our house has a flat roof.")

– "Zal er dit jaar met Kerst sneeuw op de daken liggen?" 
("Will there be snow on the roofs with Christmas this year? ")

Expressions:
– "Onder één dak wonen": to live in the same house / under the same roof.
– "Het viel me koud op mijn dak": "I was quite unprepared for it".
– "Uit je dak gaan": to go wild.

Example:
– "Hoe was het concert?" – "Man, ik ging helemaal uit mijn dak!!"
("How was the concert?" – "Man, I went completely wild!!")

Related words:
– Dakpan: roof tile [noun] [de pan, de pannen].
– Regenpijp: (d)rain pipe [noun] [de pijp, de pijpen].
– Schoorsteen: chimney [noun] [de steen, de stenen].
– Ladder: ladder [noun] [de ladder, de ladders].

Extra:
In the late 50s, a Dutch rock ‘n’ roll song became very popular and is now one of the Dutch rock ‘n’ roll classics. The song is called "Kom van dat dak af" and was performed by "Peter en zijn Rockets": lead singer Peter Koelewijn and his band "De Rockets". You can listen to the song here, or watch Peter sing his biggest hit again in 2007…

a (whole) lot, (quite) a lot, lots [noun] [de heleboel, no plural]

"Heleboel" is composed of "hele" (from "heel": whole) and "boel" which can have several meanings: things, matters and even "mess". In this case it means "lots" or "a lot". "Heleboel" is mostly used in conjunction with a noun, see the Examples.

Examples:
– "Mijn dochtertje stelt een heleboel vragen." 
("My (little) daughter asks a lot of questions.")

– "Er zijn een heleboel mensen met een heleboel geld." 
("There are a lot of people with a whole lot of money.")

– " ‘Heleboel’ is een vreemd woord, vind je niet?"- "Ach, er zijn een heleboel vreemde woorden!" 
(" ‘Heleboel’ is a strange word, don’t you think?" – "Oh well, there are lots of strange words!")

– "Kun je zien hoeveel mensen er zijn?" – "Nee, maar het zijn er een heleboel!" 
("Can you see how many people there are?" – "No, but there are quite a lot!") 

Related words:
– Heel: whole [adverb/adjective].
– Boel: things, matters / lot, lots [noun] [de boel, no plural].

Example:
– "We laten de boel de boel!"
("Let’s leave things as they are!")

– Veel: much, many, a lot [adverb/indefinite pronoun/cardinal].
– Hoop: heap, pile [noun] [de hoop, de hopen].
– Berg: load, heap, mountain [noun] [de berg, de bergen].

1. smooth, slippery [adjective/adverb]

In general, "glad" refers to an object which is not rough. It is often used when warning for slippery roads in wintertime, or to describe objects with a smooth surface.

Examples:
– "Het tijdschrift heeft een glanzende, gladde voorkant."
("The magazine has a shiny, smooth cover.")

– "Puisterige pubers gebruiken clearasil om een gladde huid te krijgen." 
("Teens with pimples use clearasil to get a smooth skin.")

– "Mijn fietsbanden hebben bijna geen profiel meer; ze zijn helemaal glad."
("My bicycle-tyres don’t have any tread left; they’re all bald.")

– "De gladde wegen leidden tot lange files op de snelwegen." 
("The slippery roads resulted in long traffic jams on the highways.")

– "De sneeuw maakte de weg spiegelglad." 
("The snow made the road as slippery as glass.")

Expressions:
– "Iets glad vergeten": to totally forget something.

Example:
– "Het spijt me heel erg, maar ik ben je verjaardag glad vergeten." 
("I’m so sorry, but I totally forgot your birthday.")

Related words:
– Spiegelglad: as slippery as glass [adjective/adverb].

2. slick [adjective/adverb]

"Glad" can also refer to boys or men. If so, it is seldomly used as a compliment. Someone is "glad" when he’s not to be trusted. I suspect the origin of the word has something to do with an apparent correlation between untrustworthy men and the exuberant amounts of hair gel that these men tend to use to create their slick hairdo. Slightly old-fashioned words for such a type of man are "gladjakker" and "gladjanus".

Examples:
– "Ik zou mijn auto niet van die autohandelaar kopen; hij is veel te glad."
("I wouldn’t buy my car from that car dealer; he’s way too slick.")

– "Kijk maar uit voor die gladde jongens met hun gladde praatjes."
("You’d better watch out for those slick guys with their slick stories.")

Related words:
– Gladjanus: slicker [noun] [de gladjanus, de gladjanussen].
– Gladjakker: slicker [noun] [de gladjakker, de gladjakkers].