Peuk

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1. fag, smoke, cig(arette) [noun] [de peuk, de peuken] [‘peuk‘]

“Peuk” is a popular synonym for cigarette. It is always used informally. The original translation of “peuk”, see 2. below, is also common.

Examples:
– “Heb je een euro voor me? Ik wil peuken halen bij het café op de hoek van de straat.”
(“Do you have a euro (for me)? I want to get cigarettes in the bar at the corner of the street.”)

– “Kan ik een peuk van je bietsen?”
(“Can you spare me a fag? / Can I have a smoke from you?” Literally: “Can I bum/scrounge a fag of you?”)

– “Op de grond ligt een tapijt van peuken.”
(“A carpet of (cigarette) butts lies on the floor.” See Extra below.)

Related words:
– “Sigaret”: cigarette.
– “Een pakje peuken”: a pack of smokes/fags.
– “Aansteker“: lighter.
– “Opsteken”: to light (up).

2. butt, stub [noun] [de peuk, de peuken] [‘peuk‘]

Examples:
– “Na de lunchpauze liggen er buiten overal peuken op de grond.”
(“After the lunchbreak, there are (cigarette) butts all over the place outside.” Lit. “… lie all over the place…”)

– “In het studentenhuis hing een stank van peuken en verschaald bier.”
(“In the students’ house there was a stench of fags and stale beer.” Lit.: “…there hung a stench…”)

Extra:
From 1990 to 2005, the show “Jiskefet” was broadcast on the Dutch television. It was a show with various humoristic and absurdistic sketches. One of the recurring sketches was three snob students bragging about drinking beer and shagging women. In one episode, there’s the song “Er zit een haar in m’n glas (start 1.45)” (there’s a hair in my glass), which also contains the line: “op de grond ligt een tapijt van peuken” (on the floor lies a carpet of (cigarette) butts).

The diminutive of “peuk” is “peukje” and the informal diminutive is “peukie”. There is a beach restaurant/bar in Scheveningen that is called “peukie”: http://www.peukie.nl . They apparantly also claim to be a steakhouse 🙂

 

282. La

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1. drawer [noun] [de la, de la’s / de lades] [‘la‘]

"La" is short for "lade": drawer. Its plural can be both "la’s" and "lades".

Examples:
– "Weet jij waar de nietjes zijn? – Ze liggen in de bovenste la."
("Do you know where the staples are? – They’re in the top drawer." Although "nietje" is a diminutive, you will hardly encounter the noun "niet" except in "nietmachine/apparaat": stapler.)

– "Hebben jullie ook een clean-desk-policy? – Ja, alle
vertrouwelijke documenten moeten worden bewaard in afgesloten kasten of
laden."
("Do you also have a clean-desk policy? – Yes, all confidential document must be stored in locked cabinets or drawers.")

Expressions:
– "Iets in een la laten verdwijnen": to put
something under a big pile of paper. (Lit.: to make something disappear
in a drawer).
– "Geld in het laatje brengen": to generate income, to earn money. Literally "to bring money in the drawer", where cash registerIkea_ladenkasten_2 drawer is implied.

Related words:
– "Lade": drawer.
– "Ladeblok": drawer unit.
– "Ladekast": chest of drawers.
– "Bureau": desk.

 

2. la <musical note> [noun] [de la, de la’s] [‘la‘]

Examples:
– "Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – si – do!"
("Do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – ti – do!" Note that the "si" is not a typo!)

Related words:
– "Toonladder": scale.
– "Noot": note, key.

Dwaas

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1. foolish, crazy, daft [adjective/adverb] [‘dwaas‘]

Yesterday the “drie dwaze dagen” started at the “Bijenkorf” department store in the Netherlands. During these “three crazy days” the standard collection is replaced with special sales items, sometimes going away with huge discounts. For each day there is a separate booklet with sales items. (In 2015 the Bijenkorf abandoned the “drie dwaze dagen” as it no longer fits in their vision of exclusive luxury.)

It can indeed get crazy during the “drie dwaze dagen”, when people queue up in front of the stores at 8 in the morning, then rushing to be the first to reach the objects of their desire.

“Dwaas” can also be a noun, see translation 2 below. A more common word for foolish or crazy is “gek”, see 111. Gek. In the “drie dwaze dagen” it is obviously chosen for the purpose of alliteration.

Examples:
– “Gisteren zijn de drie dwaze dagen van start gegaan bij de Bijenkorf, met veel interessante aanbiedingen.”
(“Yesterday the “drie dwaze dagen” started at the Bijenkorf, with many interesting offers.” The expression “van start gaan” can by replaced by the simpler “starten” if you like.)

– “De dwaze actie van de verdediger werd door de scheidsrechter met een penalty bestraft.”
(“The foolish move by the defender was punished by the referee with a penalty kick.” In Dutch football/soccer jargon you will both encounter “penalty” and “strafschop” – the literal translation of penalty kick. The less brilliant will pronounce “penalty” the Dutch way, with the emphasis on the second syllable.)

 Related words:
– “Bijenkorf”: beehive.
– “Gek”: crazy, mad.
– “Gestoord”: mentally disturbed, insane.

2. fool, idiot [noun] [de dwaas, de dwazen] [‘dwaas‘]

Examples:
– “Luister B.A., we moeten het vliegtuig in!” – “Nee Murdock, dwaas, ik ga zeker weten niet vliegen!”
(“Listen B.A., we have to get onto the plane!” – “No Murdock you fool, no way I’m going to fly!)

– “Hé dwaas, kun je niet uitkijken ofzo!”
(“Hey fool, why don’t you watch out!” Literally: “… can you not watch out or something!”)

 Related words:
– “Gek”: fool [noun].
– “Gestoorde”: mentally deranged [noun].

280. Billenknijper

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bottom pincher/squeezer [noun] [de billenknijper, de billenknijpers] [‘bi-lun-knij-pur’]

Billenknijper_1Today’s DWOTD is inspired by a news article that appeared on a Dutch news internet site (www.nu.nl). Amongst other people that were arrested during the "Leids ontzet" celebration (see DWOTD 279. Ontzet) there was a "billenknijper".
This word is a typical illustration of the compound form that allows you to create arbitrarily long words in Dutch. In this case it consists of "billen" ("buttocks/bottom") and "knijper" ("somebody who pinches / squeezes") derived from the verb "knijpen": to pinch, to squeeze.

Examples:
– "<krantenkop:> Baldadige billenknijper aangehouden bij Leidens Ontzet."
("<newspaper headline:> Rowdy bottom squeezer arrested during "Leidens Ontzet"." Actually "aanhouden" means "to stop somebody", but it is commonly used for "to arrest".)

– "Tijdens drukte is de kans op een billenknijper groter door de anonimiteit van de massa."
("During commotion the probability of a bottom squeezer (being active) is bigger due to the anonimity of the masses." In this context "drukte" generally translates to "crowds of people".)

Related words:
– "Bil": buttock, cheek.
– "Knijpen": to pinch, to squeeze.
– "Knijper": (clothes) peg/pin, or somebody who pinches/squeezes.

Extra:
A word that looks very similar but means something totally different is "ballenknijper". This word literally translates to "balls pincher" and is used to describe the tight male swim wear that looks like underwear ("speedos") and that middle aged Dutch men tend to wear (it is apparantly also mandatory swim wear in French swimming pools).

279. Ontzet

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1. relief, rescue [noun] [het ontzet, de ontzetten] [‘ont-zet‘]

Today is the celebration of the "relief of Leyden" – in Dutch "het ontzet van Leiden" or "Leids ontzet". The city of Leiden was liberated from the Spanish siege on October 3rd of 1574 during the Eighty Year’s War. The story goes that the cooked bits of potato that were left by the Spanish formed the origin of the recipe for "hutspot", a typical Dutch winter dish made of mashed potatoes, carrots and onions. When entering the city, the liberators ("Geuzen") brought herring ("haring") and white bread.
So if you are in Leiden today and you don’t like hutspot, you can still feast on the haring 😉

Examples:
– "Elk jaar op 3 oktober vieren de inwoners van Leiden het Leids ontzet."
("Every year on October 3rd, the inhabitants of Leiden celebrate the "Leids ontzet".)

– "Tijdens de viering van het Leids ontzet wordt er gratis haring en wittebrood uitgereikt."
("During the celebration of the "Leids ontzet" free herring and white bread is handed out.")

Related word:
– "Ontzetten": to relieve (city), to rescue.

Example:
– "Toen de politie arriveerde kon het slachtoffer eindelijk worden ontzet."
("When the police arrived the victim was finally rescued.")

2. dislocated, wrenched, out of alignment/gauge [adjective] [‘ont-zet‘]

Examples:
– "Ik ben gevallen en nu is mijn schouder ontzet."
("I fell and now my shoulder is dislocated.")

– "Door de aanrijding zijn de treinrails ontzet geraakt."
("Due to the crash the rails are out of gauge.")

3. aghast, horror-stricken, dismayed at/by [adjective] [‘ont-zet‘]

You might not encounter the word "ontzet" too often in this translation, but it is a perfectly normal word to use. A very common derivation of "ontzet" is the adverb "ontzettend", which can also be used as an adjective.

Related word:
– "Ontzettend": terribly, awfully, terrifically, tremendously, immensely, incredibly etc.

Examples:
– "Ik vind het laatste album van Nick Cave ontzettend goed, en jij?"
("I think the latest album by Nick Cave is incredibly good, what do you think?")

– "Het heeft afgelopen nacht ontzettend geregend."
("There was terrible rain last night." Literally: "It has rained terribly…")

– "Ontzettend bedankt voor je hulp!"
("Thanks awfully for your help!")