Broddelwerk

badly done piece of work or repair, botch-job, botch-up
[noun]
[het brod-del-werk] 

The noun ‘werk’ means ‘work’ in Dutch and it can be used for a (type of) job one has, but also for a job done, e.g. ‘goed werk!’ (good job!). When you deliver ‘broddelwerk’ you are doing a terrible job of poor quality. The related verb is ‘broddelen’ (to bungle / botch (up) (one’s work)’, however it is almost never used.

Examples:
“Hij heeft een goede reputatie als dichter, maar zijn laatste bundel is echt broddelwerk!” 
(“He has a very good reputation being a poet, but his latest collection (of poems) is a botch-up.”)

“Ik heb mijn auto laten spuiten, maar het is echt broddelwerk, ik zweer het je, breng je auto nooit naar die garage!” 
(“I had my car spray-painted but it’s a botch-job, I’m telling you, never take your car to that garage!”)

“Denk jij dat Frank contractverlenging krijgt?” – “Ik denk het niet, die gast levert echt broddelwerk af!” 
(“Do you think Frank will get contract renewal?” – “I don’t think so, the guy’s output is always of very poor quality.”)

Related words:
– Broddelen: to make a botch of something, to bungle / botch (up) (one’s work) [verb] [broddelde, gebroddeld].
– Slecht werk leveren: to do a poor job [verb] [leverde, geleverd].
– Broddelaar: bungler, botcher [noun] [de broddelaar, de broddelaren].
Waardeloos: worthless [adjective].
– Slecht: bad [adjective].
Aanfluiting: farce, travesty [noun] [de aanfluiting, de aanfluitingen].

2 thoughts on “Broddelwerk

  1. I hope it’s not echt broddelwerk to suggest that, with today’s temperature in Amsterdam being 24°C, one of the next DWOTDs could be “oudewijvenzomer”. 🙂

    • Hi Chris, your comments are never ‘broddelwerk’ 😉

      So indeed, this period of summer weather ‘after the summer’ is sometimes referred to as ‘oudewijvenzomer’ (old women summer; with the usage of ‘wijf’ being derogatory in current times). However, a more common word that is used is ‘nazomer’ (‘after summer’).

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