It isheet(hot). The gruelinghitte(heat) of thezomer(summer) and the lack ofregen(rain) is killing yourtuin(garden). And all you can do to fight this heat is to sprinkle somewater(water) to save at least something. Though in thishitte, usingwaterfor keeping yourtuintogether – is that a good use of thatwater? What will theburen(neighbors) think? Would they think it’sasociaal(asocial) to use all that scarcewaterto irrigate your plants? What about themilieu(environment)? This feeling of shame to spray led to the neologismsproeischaamte.

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What does it mean?

Sproeischaamtemeans “spraying shame”. The exact definition is:schaamte die iemand ervaart als hij in een droge periode de tuin sproeit in het volle besef dat er waterschaarste dreigt(shame that somebody feels if they spray the garden while being fully aware that water scarcity is likely).

You are ashamed of spraying, because you do not want to waste water.Kraanwater(tap water) is drinkable in the Netherlands, and it takes a lot of energy and effort to clean it. And some people feel like it is a waste to use this good water. Usinggrondwater(groundwater) orregenwater(rainwater) instead helps!

And even though on hot days, water usage shoots up in the Netherlands, any actualwaterschaarste(water scarcity) is unlikely anytime soon.

If you feelsproeischaamte, you can use it in the following way:

Het is zo droog. Ik durf niet eens mijn plantjes water te geven. Ik heb sproeischaamte.(It is so dry. I don’t even dare to water my plants. I have spraying shame.)

Though whether people actually feel this way and whether anybody actually gets outraged for people watering their plants… I don’t know. But it is a fun word.

Relevance to July

It is hot in the Netherlands again. Last month,I wrote about thehitte, and how the Netherlands barely escaped ahittegolf(heat wave). Maybe we will have it now. But this is the weather in which people will feelsproeischaamte !

What do you think about this word? Do you thinksproeischaamteis sensible or do you think it isonzin(nonsense)? Let me know in the comments below!