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Cobra

Page 35

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

 

 

 


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