hoogwaterbroek

Dutch

Etymology

From hoogwater (“high tide, high water, flood”) +‎ broek (“pants”); the joke being that pants which are somewhat too short would not get wet if worn during flooding events.

Noun

hoogwaterbroek f (plural hoogwaterbroeken, diminutive hoogwaterbroekje n)

1. (humorous) Full-length pants which are unintentionally too short (and comically so, such as pants which a child has grown out of or poorly fitting hand-me-downs)

   Mijn oudste loopt rond in een hoogwaterbroek, het is hoog tijd dat ik weer eens wat nieuws voor hem koop.

   My eldest [child] walks about in pants which are too short, it's high time I buy him something new.

2. (by extension) Pants which are intended to be slightly shorter than full-length, as an expression of fashion.

   Het is belangrijk om passende schoenen en sokken te dragen bij een hoogwaterbroek, anders ziet het er raar uit.

   It's important to wear appropriate shoes and socks with pants which are somewhat shorter than full-length, otherwise it looks weird.