by Deon Meyer
Moer in – ‘Moer’ is a wonderful, mildly vulgar Afrikaans expletive, and can be used in any conceivable way. Its origins lie in the Dutch word ‘Moeder’, meaning ‘Mother’. ‘Moer in” means ‘to be very angry’, but you can also ‘moer someone” (to hit somebody), use it as an angry exclamation (Moer!, which approximates ‘Damn!), call something or someone ‘moerse’ (approximates ‘great’ or ‘cool’), or use it as an adjective: I have a ‘moerse’ head ache – I have a huge head ache. ‘Moer toe’ means ‘fucked up’, or even ‘dead’.
Mos – Widely used and applied Afrikaans adverb, mostly meaning ‘indeed’, or ‘as you know’.
Nee, wat – Afrikaans expression approximating ‘no, not really’.
Njaps, njapsed – Mild synonym for sexual intercourse.
Nogal – Afrikaans word with wide application, mostly meaning rather, quite, fairly . . .
Nooit – Never (Afrikaans).
Nou’s dit – Now it is (Afrikaans).
Orraait – Afrikaans version of ‘all right’.
Ou, Outjie – Guy. ‘Outjie’ is the diminutive form. (Afrikaans.)
Panados – A paracetemol pain killer in tablet form.
Poegaai – Cape Flats Afrikaans, meaning ‘very tired’.
Rand value – Over the past two years, the value of the South African currency (Rand, or R) has fluctuated between 7 and 110 to the US$, 9 and 15 to the Euro, and 14 to 18 to the British pound.
Sê nou – ‘Now tell’, or ‘do say’. (Afrikaans.)
Shebeens – A shebeen (Irish: síbín) was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Scotland, Canada, the United States, England, Zimbabwe, English-speaking Caribbean, Namibia and South Africa. In modern South Africa, many “shebeens” are now fully legal. The word derives from the Irish síbín, meaning ‘illicit whiskey’. (Quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebeen)
Sien jy – ‘Do you see?’ (Afrikaans.)
Sisterjie – Diminutive of ‘sister’. (Afrikaans.)
Sjoe – ‘Wow’. (Afrikaans.) With wide, broad application.
Skelmpie – From the (Afrikaans) ‘skelm’ (noun) meaning rascal, or sly person, or ‘skelm’ (adverb), meaning dishonest, a ‘skelmpie’ is the common term for a lover out of wedlock.
Skep, pappie, skep – ‘Skep’ can mean ‘scoop’ (as in scoop up water from a well) or ‘spoon’ (as in spoon up, when eating soup, for instance).Vaughn Cupido uses it in the sense of the Afrikaans idiom ‘you have to scoop when it rains’, meaning you have to gather your hay while the sun shines. (‘Pappie’ is the Afrikaans for ‘father’, and is used in the sense of the African American slang ‘dawg’).
Slim kind – ‘Clever child’.
Snotskoot – Literally, ‘snot shot’, as in ‘I hit him a snot shot’ – i.e. right on the nose, or ‘hit him in such a way that the snot flew’.
Sommer netnou – ‘Soon’.
Sussie – Another diminutive for ‘sister’.
Tik – South African nickname for the drug methamphetamine.
Versta’jy – ‘Do you understand?’ (Cape Flats vernacular.)
Volkies – Derogatory reference to coloured farm workers.
Waterblommetjie stew – ‘Waterblommetjie’ literally means ‘little water fl ower’. A plant growing in fresh water ponds in the Western Cape (translation ‘water blister / hydatid / Cape pondweed / Cape hawthorn / Cape asparagus’), it is famous for its use in a stew with lamb.
Wiet jy – ‘Do you know?’ (Cape Flats vernacular.)
Table of Contents
Cover
COBRA
Also by Deon Meyer
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Glossary
Back Cover
Table of Contents
Cover
COBRA
Also by Deon Meyer
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Glossary
Back Cover
