Category Archives: Vocabulary Guru

De hele reutemeteut

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the whole lot, everything, the whole shebang 
[Dutch phrase of the week]
[de he-le reu-te-me-teut]

De_hele_reutemeteut You can use this informal phrase to indicate that you mean 'the whole lot'. It can cover things and people. In case of things, it's usually 'rubbish' or 'junk'. "Reutemeteut" is derived from "reut" ('jumble', 'bunch') which in its turn is related to the old Dutch noun 'rot', meaning 'row of soldiers'. German readers may recognize the word 'Rotte'. The original phrase was 'de hele reut', but both this phrase and 'reut' are not used anymore.

Examples:
– "Met wie was jij op Koninginnedag?" – "O, met Marieke, Roel, Bart-Jan, je weet wel, de hele reutemeteut." 
("Who were you with on Queen's day?" – "Oh, with Marieke, Roel, Bart-Jan, you know, the whole lot.")

– "We gaan het restaurant verbouwen." – "Wat ga je doen dan?" – "We gaan alles vernieuwen; de keuken, de tafels, nieuw behang, de hele reutemeteut." 
("We are going to renovate the restaurant." – "Well, what are you going to do?" – "We are going to renew everything; the kitchen, the tables, new wallpaper, the whole shebang.")

– "We moesten ons allemaal melden bij de directeur. Het ondersteunend personeel, de hogere managementlagen, het kantinepersoneel, de hele reutemeteut!" 
("We all had to report to the director. The supporting personnel, the higher management layers, the cantine staff, everybody!")

– "Schiet het op met het leegruimen van het huis?" – "Niet echt, we moeten van alles uitzoeken, maar het liefst zou ik de hele reutemeteut het raam uitgooien!" 
("Are you making progress cleaning out the house?" – "Not really, we have a lot to go through, but I would really like to just throw everything out of the window!")

Expressions:
– "De hele mikmak": like 'de hele reutemeteut' but then for things.
– "Alles en iedereen": one and all, all and sundry. Lit. "everything and everybody".

Related words:
– Troep: mess, junk, rubbish [noun] [de troep, <no plural>].
– Rommel: junk, rubbish [noun] [de rommel, <no plural>].

Oeverloos

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1. endless, unlimited 
[adjective]
[oe-ver-loos]

An “oever” is a ‘shore’ (sea, lakes) or ‘bank’ (river, lake, canal). I guess that without ‘oevers’ a river can potentially grow wider with ‘no end’ (in the Netherlands) hence the negative connotation of the word “oeverloos” in the meaning of ‘endless, unlimited’.

Examples:
– “Ik ben jouw oeverloze gezever zat!” – “Gezever, gezever, wie gebruikt dat woord nou? Zeg toch gewoon ‘gezeur’!” – “Hah! Dit is precies wat ik bedoel, hou op met je gezeur ok, nou goed??” 
(“I’m fed up with your endless drivel!” – “Drivel, drivel, who ever uses that word? Why don’t you just say ‘whining’!” – “Hah! This is exactly what I mean, stop (with your) whining ok, happy now??”)

– “Hoe was de vergadering?” – “Wel ok, maar Frank was er en dan weet je dat er binnen de kortste keren oeverloze discussies ontstaan!” 
(“How was the meeting?” – “It was alright, but Frank was there and then you know that you will have endless discussions in no time.” Lit. “endless discussions will start.”)

Expressions:
– “Een gebed zonder eind”: a never ending story. Lit. “prayer without ending”.

Related words:
– Oever: shore, bank [noun] [de oever, de oevers].
– Eindeloos: endless [adjective].

Example:
– “De mogelijkheden zijn eindeloos!”
(“The possibilities are endless!”)

– Rivier: river [noun] [de rivier, de rivieren].
– Overstromen: to overflow, to run over [verb] [stroomde over, overgestroomd].
– Uiterwaard: (river) foreland, holm, washland [noun] [de uiterwaard, de uiterwaarden].

2. shoreless No_audio
[adjective]
[oe-ver-loos]

‘Shoreless’ is the literal meaning of ‘oeverloos’.

Examples:
– “Als gevolg van stadsuitbreiding zijn er huizen gebouwd op de oevers van de rivier. Daarmee is de rivier in feite oeverloos geworden.” 
(“As a consequence of city expansion houses have been built on the river’s banks. Because of that, the river has now effectively become shore/bankless.”)

– “Je kunt niet wandelen langs die rivier want die is oeverloos, dus ik raad je aan een andere route uit te stippelen.”  
(“You can’t walk along that river as it is shoreless, so I advise you to map out a different route.”)

Slapjanus

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wimp, softie, sissy, weakling 
[noun]
[de slap-ja-nus, de slap-ja-nus-sen]

Slapjanus "Slapjanus" is derived from the adjective "slap": weak, soft, feeble. A "slapjanus" is somebody who can both be physically weak (little strength) and mentally weak (no determination, no motivation, can't get things done etc.). You will also hear "softie" (derived from the English 'soft') or 'watje'.

Examples:
– "Ik ga Yvette helpen verhuizen." – "Kan haar vriend niet helpen?" – "Jawel, maar hij is een beetje een slapjanus." 
("I'm going to help Yvette move (house)." – "Isn't her boyfriend able to help?" – "Yes he is, but he is a bit of a softie.")

– "Aan slapjanussen hebben we niets in deze steeds harder wordende wereld!" 
("Wimps are of no use to us in this ever toughening world!")

– "Ik ben zijn geklaag zat, als hij een slapjanus wil zijn, prima, maar val mij er niet mee lastig!" 
("I'm sick of his whining, if he wants to be a sissy, fine, but don't bother me with it!")

Related words:
– Slap: weak, soft, feeble [adjective].
– Slappeling: weakling, wimp, softie [noun] [de slappeling, de slappelingen].

Example:
– "Jij slappeling! Geef je nu al op? Kom op, het is nog maar 200 kilometer naar Mordor!"
("You weakling! Are you giving up already? Come on, it's only 200 kilometres left to Mordor!")

– Soft: soft, weak [adjective, from English].
– Watje: sissy, wimp [noun] [het watje, de watjes].
– Zwak: weak [adjective]. 

Dat is (nog) toekomstmuziek

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That is still in the future Iconspeaker_3
[Dutch phrase of the week]

Another Dutch phrase to impress your friends and colleagues with: "dat is (nog) toekomstmuziek", Sunseeker 2 meaning that something is not (yet) possible. Its literal meaning is: "that is future music for the time being". You can guess that the phrase relates to something positive that might happen in the future, rather than pointing to negative future occurences. 

Examples:
– "Rond de wereld vliegen op zonne-energie? Dat is voorlopig nog toekomstmuziek." 
("Flying around the world on solar energy? That is not possible for the time being.")

– "Kun je de iPhone 4 opladen met waterstof of is dat nog toekomstmuziek?" 
("Is it possible to charge the iPhone 4 with hydrogen or is that still in the future?")

– "Ik heb in de wandelgangen gehoord dat het bedrijf weer in de zwarte cijfers zit. Klopt dat of is dat nog toekomstmuziek?" 
("I informally heard that the company is making a profit again. Is that true or is that still in the future?")

– "Wanneer studeer je nou eindelijk eens af?" – "Nou, voorlopig is dat helaas nog toekomstmuziek." 
("When are you finally going to graduate?"- "Well, unfortunately that will take some more time.")

Expressions:
– Dat klinkt me als muziek in de oren: it/that's music to my ears, I totally agree with that [literally: "that sounds like music in my ears"].

Example:
– "Een paar weken vrij? Dat klinkt me als muziek in de oren!"
("A couple of weeks off? That sounds great!")

Related words:
– Toekomst: future [noun] [de toekomst, <no plural>].
– Muziek: music [noun] [de muziek, <no plural>].

Draaideurcrimineel

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repeat offender, recidivist, repeater Iconspeaker_3 Draaideur
[noun]
[de draai-deur-cri-mi-neel, de draai-deur-cri-mi-ne-len]

"Draaideurcrimineel" is composed of "draaideur" and "crimineel", which translate to "revolving door" and "criminal" respectively. "Draaideurcrimineel" is an informal synonym of "recidivist"

Alternative synonym is "veelpleger" (lit.: many-committer).

Examples:
– "Draaideurcriminelen hebben vaak ook een zedendelict gepleegd." – "Geloof je dat echt?" 
("Repeat offenders have often committed sexual offences too." – "Do you really believe that?")

– "Rechtbanken zijn overbelast door de enorme hoeveelheid draaideurcriminelen." 
("Courts of law are overloaded with work due to the huge amount of recidivists.")

– "<Boze winkelier> Ik ben dit jaar al vier keer beroofd! Het zijn allemaal draaideurcriminelen! Oprotten moeten ze!!" 
("<Angry shop owner> I have been robbed four times this year already! They're all repeat offenders! They have to f*ck off!")

Expressions:
– "Door één deur kunnen (met)": (lit.: to fit through one door) to get along (with).
– "Dat doet de deur dicht!": that does it!

Example:
– "Mijn auto is nu voor de derde keer bekrast…dat doet de deur dicht!" 
("My car has been scratched for the third time now…that does it!")

Related words:
– Crimineel: criminal [noun] [de crimineel, de criminelen].
– Deur: door [noun] [de deur, de deuren].
– Draaien: to turn, to spin [verb] [draaien, draaide, h./i. gedraaid].

Example:
– "Mijn hoofd draait, ik geloof dat ik een misselijk wordt…"
("My head is spinning, I think I'm going to be sick…")

– Veelpleger: (lit.: many-committer) recidivist [noun] [de veelpleger, de veelplegers].