# The dutch have a great term for nit pickers (and other things) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867 "2017-08-27T20:09:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/1 "2017-08-27T20:09:34Z")
[Mierenneuker](http://www.dwotd.nl/2008/02/368-mierenneuker.html). Literal translation: Ant fucker. I like it. šŸ†’ **Afgelebberde boterham** is a good one too, as a euphemism for someone who has had a LOT of sex. Literally, an overlicked sandwich. Theyā€™re literal in their medical diagnoses too. Epididymitis is literally **pijn in de balzac**. Wish Iā€™d learned this before Grandma Mercotan passed on. She was always muttering to herself in dutch when us grandkids got rowdy. Then refusing to translate. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/2 "2017-08-27T20:42:43Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I like it. šŸ†’ I do, too. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/3 "2017-08-27T20:44:57Z")
The Dutch are linguistically inventive. For your enjoyment, may I recommend the Wikipedia page on Dutch profanity. (NSFW). Personal favorite- Maatennaaier - one who fucks over his buddies. ā€œInfamous historical examples include Brutus and Benedict Arnold.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/4 "2017-08-27T20:46:21Z")
Ant Fucker. Ha! How _low_ can you _go?_ Bacteria Boner? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/5 "2017-08-27T21:04:31Z")
But is an ā€œant-fuckerā€ an ant which is also a fucker, or is it one who fucks ants? Or both at once, I suppose, since I expect that, in practice, those two categories overlap almost entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/6 "2017-08-27T21:07:27Z")
I interpret ā€œgoat-fuckerā€ as one who fucks goats, as in the punch line, ā€œYou fuck just one goatā€¦ā€, so an ant-fucker would be someone who fucks ants, i.e., a micro-dick. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/7 "2017-08-27T21:22:08Z")
I want to use ā€œant fuckerā€ for the next time Iā€™m in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/8 "2017-08-27T22:14:10Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > The Dutch are linguistically inventive. For your enjoyment, may I recommend the Wikipedia page on Dutch profanity. (NSFW). Personal favorite- Maatennaaier - one who fucks over his buddies. ā€œInfamous historical examples include Brutus and Benedict Arnold.ā€ Does that not mean that same thing as the English ā€œfucking overā€? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/9 "2017-08-28T00:19:22Z")
I like the German _Sitzpinkler_. Male who sits down to pee. Meaning a wimp or pussy. ā€œMichael wouldnā€™t come out drinking with us ā€“ he has to take his wife to her pedicure.ā€ ā€œThatā€™s 'cause heā€™s a Sitzpinlkerā€ ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/10 "2017-08-28T03:34:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But is an ā€œant-fuckerā€ an ant which is also a fucker, or is it one who fucks ants? Or both at once, I suppose, since I expect that, in practice, those two categories overlap almost entirely. It is, specifically, a fucker of ants. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/11 "2017-08-28T04:10:56Z")
I like the ant-fucker one. Itā€™s not that far off from the French expression ā€œenculer des mouchesā€ which also means to nitpick. (ā€œto fuck flies in the assā€). ETA: I forgot to add that we donā€™t use that expression in Quebec or French Canada, as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/12 "2017-08-28T07:22:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The dutch have a great term for nit pickers (and other things) > > * * * > > Mierenneuker. > > Literal translation: Ant fucker. > > I like it. At the risk of being a nit-picker or indeed a mierenneuker, ā€˜nit-pickerā€™ is, if you think about it, at least as inventive. Less crude but rather well-observed. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/13 "2017-08-28T14:55:28Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > I like the German _Sitzpinkler_. Male who sits down to pee. > > Meaning a wimp or pussy. > > ā€œMichael wouldnā€™t come out drinking with us ā€“ he has to take his wife to her pedicure.ā€ > ā€œThatā€™s 'cause heā€™s a Sitzpinlkerā€ The German word for bagpipe is the evocative _dudelsack_. The word for car exhaust is _auspuff_, which I also like. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/14 "2017-08-28T15:35:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The German word for bagpipe is the evocative _dudelsack_. > The word for car exhaust is _auspuff_, which I also like. Letā€™s not forget _ausfahrt_, which is a highway exit. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/15 "2017-08-28T21:15:14Z")
Shouldnā€™t ā€œdutchā€ be capitalized in the OP? [sub]anyone seen any cuties at the anty bar tonight?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Renz\_Medicinal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Renz\_Medicinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renz_Medicinal)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/16 "2017-08-29T00:06:03Z")
From the Reingold lexicon (They Have a Word For It), the Germans have a similar concept: Korinthenkacker, literally a raisin crapper. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dutch-have-a-great-term-for-nit-pickers-and-other-things/794867/17 "2017-08-30T15:40:08Z")
In Danish a nitpicker is a ā€œflueknepperā€ (a fly fucker). No wonder from the country with the town of Middelfart.