Roet in het eten gooien

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to make/cause trouble, to spoil (the fun) Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Literally, “roet in het eten gooien” translates to “to throw soot in theRoet in het eten gooien food”. It is used when someone ruins or spoils a situation, or causes trouble that may prevent something (good) from happening.

Examples:
– “Zal Frank roet in het eten gooien met dat akkefietje?” 
(“Will Frank cause trouble with that little incident?”)

– “Gooit onze accountant weer roet in het eten? Weer een tegenslag voor het project!” 
(“Is our accountant making trouble again? Again a setback for the project!”)

– “We wilden vanmiddag gaan fietsen, maar het weer gooit roet in het eten: alleen maar miezeren…” 
(“We wanted to go biking this afternoon, but the weather is spoiling the fun: nothing but drizzle…”)

Related words:
– Bederven: 1. to spoil, to ruin [verb] [bederven, bedierf, bedorven] 2. to go bad <food>, to go sour <e.g. milk> [verb] [bederven, bedierf, bedorven].
– Roet: soot [noun] [het roet, <no plural>].
– Schoorsteenveger: chimney-sweep(er) [noun] [de schoorsteenveger, de schoorsteenvegers].
– Verpesten: to spoil, to ruin, synonymous to “roet in het eten gooien [verb] [verpesten, verpestte, h. verpest].

Example:
– “Ik ben razend! Frank heeft het hele feestje verpest met zijn onverkwikkelijke gedrag!”
(“I’m furious! Frank has ruined the entire party with his sordid behaviour!”)

Akkefietje

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little quarrel/disagreement/conflict, little (unpleasant) incident Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het ak-ke-fiet-je, de ak-ke-fiet-jes]

laundry-413688_640As you may have guessed, “akkefietje” is a diminutive form, and is always used as such. There’s no such thing as an “akkefiet”…

The etymology is a bit unclear, but is suspected that it originates from “acquavitje”, an ironical reference to the Latin “aqua vitae”: brandy (probably used to sooth the conflict…). “Akkefietje” nowadays translates to “little quarrel/disagreement” or “little (unpleasant) incident”.

Examples:
– “Ik zit niet te wachten op een akkefietje met Frank…opzouten!.” 
(“I’m not looking for a quarrel with Frank…beat it!”)

– “Ik had een akkefietje op de snelweg: een of andere idioot haalde me rechts in…” 
(“I had a little incident on the highway: some idiot overtook me on the right…”)

– “Derek heeft een akkefietje met zijn dochter, ze heeft een aarsgewei laten zetten…” 
(“Derek has a little conflict with his daughter, she had an ass-cap tattooed…”)

Expressions:
– “Met iemand in de clinch liggen”: to be in a disagreement/fight with someone.
– “Met iemand overhoop liggen”: to be in a disagreement/fight with someone.

Related words:
– Aanvaring: 1. quarrel, conflict [noun] [de aanvaring, de aanvaringen]. 2. crash, collision [noun] [de aanvaring, de aanvaringen].
– Conflict: conflict [noun] [het conflict, de conflicten].
– Ruzie: trouble, fight [noun] [de ruzie, de ruzies].

Example:
– “Hee makker, zoek je ruzie?”
(“Hey pal, are you looking for trouble?”)

– Trammelant: trouble, hassle, fuss, fight [noun] [de trammelant, <no plural>].

Binnenpretje

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private joke, secret amusement Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[het bin-nen-pret-je, de bin-nen-pret-jes]

Binnenpretje "Binnenpretje" is composed of "binnen" (inside) and "pretje": diminutive of "pret" (fun, amusement) and means something like "fun on the inside" or: "private joke". When somebody is suddenly smiling or chuckling to himself without any context, you may assume he or she has a "binnenpretje". The noun is "binnenpret" but we typically use the diminutive.

Common usage: "Waarom lach je?" – "O niks, gewoon, binnenpretje!"

Examples:
– "Hij dacht dat ik hem uitlachte, maar ik zweer het je, ik had gewoon een binnenpretje." 
("He thought I was making fun of him, but honestly, I just had to chuckle to myself." Lit. "I swear it to you".)

– "Sander kijkt altijd zo serieus, heb jij die gast ooit betrapt op een binnenpretje?" 
("Sander always looks so serious, have you ever caught that bloke/dude chuckling to himself?")

– "Met Irene valt echt niet samen te werken, de hele tijd dagdromen en binnenpretjes!" 
("Irene is impossible to work with, all the time it's daydreaming and private jokes!")

Related words:
– Binnen: inside, indoors [adverb].
– Pret: fun, pleasure, amusement [noun] [de pret, <no plural>].
– Prettig: pleasant, enjoyable, nice [adverb/adjective].
– Gniffelen: to chuckle [verb] [gniffelde, gegniffeld].

Extra:
A popular brand for liquorice, wine gums etc. in the Netherlands is "Red Band". Their slogan is well known amongst children and adults: "Red Band, als je voor pret bent!" I mean, who is against fun??

Opzouten

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to piss off, to get lost, to bugger off, to f*ck off Iconspeaker_3
[verb]
[op-zou-ten. zout-te op, i./h/ op-ge-zou-ten]Opzouten

"Opzouten" literally translates to "to salt up", hence "to salt(-cure)" or "to pickle". It was used to refer to the activity of salting or pickling fish (herring specifically) in order to store it without going bad. Actually, it was the Dutch who invented the "haringkaken": gibbing…

Nowadays, "opzouten" is mostly used as a vulgar exclamation to tell someone to go away.

Examples:
– "Dit heeft totaal geen nut, opzouten met die onzin!" 
("This is absolutely useless, piss of with that nonsense.")

– "Ik heb goede mensen nodig, praatjesmakers kunnen opzouten." 
("I need good people, boasters can get lost.")

– "Ik ben gekke Henkie niet! Zout maar op met je geouwehoer!!" 
("Do you think I'm stupid or what?! F*ck off with that bullshit!!")

Expressions:
– "Maak dat je wegkomt!": (lit.: make that you get away) get lost! <not vulgar>
– "Scheer je weg!": get lost! <not vulgar, even a bit corny>

See Extra for the more vulgar expressions 🙂

Extra:
There are numerous vulgar ways in Dutch to tell someone to go away. Here are a few (use at own risk…):
– "Wegwezen!": (lit.): be gone!
– "Sodemieter op! / opsodemieteren!: piss off!
– "Flikker op!": (lit.) flicker up!
– "Donder op! / Opdonderen!": (lit.) thunder up!
– "Optyfen!": (lit.) tyfus up!
– "Pleur op! / Oppleuren!": (lit.) cast up!
– "Hoepel op! / Ophoepelen!": (lit.) hoop up!
– "Lazer op! / "Oplazeren!": (lit.) fall up!
– "Duvel op!": (lit.) devil up!
– "Kras op! / Opkrassen!": (lit.) scratch up!
– "Ga pleite!": (lit.) go be gone!
– "(Af)nokken!": (lit.:) go quit!
– "Smeer 'm!": (lit.) smear it!

Tegenslag

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setback, mishap, bad luck Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de te-gen-slag, de te-gen-sla-gen]

Tegenslag A "tegenslag" is generally more serious than a "tegenvaller" (something turning out in your disadvantage unexpectedly). It is composed of the words "tegen" (against) and "slag" (blow, stroke).

A common usage is "Met tegenslag(en) te kampen hebben", see below.

Examples:
– "Marc en Sander hebben beiden met tegenslagen te kampen, vandaar dat er onlangs weinig DWOTDs zijn gepubliceerd." 
("Both Sander and Marc suffer misfortune at the moment, that's why not many DWOTDs have been published recently." Note that the verb "kampen" originally means "to struggle/fight" but is not used that way anymore.)

– "Het project heeft vertraging opgelopen omdat we tegenslagen hebben ondervonden bij de aanbesteding." 
("The project is delayed because there were some mishaps during the call for tenders.")

– "Na herhaalde tegenslagen heeft hij de hoop opgegeven ooit nog ware liefde te ervaren." 
("After repeated setbacks he gave up hope that he would ever experience true love.")

– "Hoe gaat het met de bouw van jullie huis?" – "De ene na de andere tegenslag, echt waar, ik wou dat we er nooit aan begonnen waren!" 
("How's the construction of your new house going?" – "One setback after the other, honestly, I wish we had never started it!")

Related words:
– Tegenvaller: disappointment [noun] [de tegenvaller, de tegenvallers].
– Pech: bad/tough luck [noun] [de pech, <no plural>].