Swaffelen is a Dutch term meaning to hit one's penis—often repeatedly—against an object or another person's body. Swaffelen was named as the word of the year in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2008. The act of swaffelen often takes place in the form of teasing, crude humour or a degrading context, but can also be a sexual act. When the act is practised on a person, it is often the person's cheek that is hit with an erect penis.
Origin
The term "swaffelen" is believed to have originated in English-speaking areas. It is believed to originate from Dutch words meaning swing, sway and swoop, as well as the German words for tail or penis.
Media coverage
In April 2008, the term received wide media attention in the Netherlands and Belgium, when a Dutch student committed the act on the Taj Mahal and uploaded the video to YouTube. The student was suspended for this action. In response, the BNNTV programSpuiten en Slikken invited viewers to make their own videos of other objects being swaffeled. They also called for a BNN Nationale Swaffeldag to be declared. The Royal Palace of Amsterdam and the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht were among the objects swaffeled in the submissions. In 2015 a firefighter in Enkhuizen was fired for swaffeling a colleague. When the topic of swearing in various languages arose, in episode 4, series N, of the British panel showQI, one of the show's panelists, Jeremy Clarkson, mentioned the word, defining it as meaning, specifically, "...to bang your penis against the Taj Mahal." It was featured in episode 5 of the Amazon Video show The Grand Tour.
Word of the year
Swaffelen was voted as the word of the year in a 2008 competition organized by Genootschap Onze Taal, Van Dale Uitgevers and the newspaper De Pers. The blog GeenStijl.nl encouraged readers to vote for "swaffelen". "Swaffelen" received 57% of the votes while "wiiën" drew 12% and "bankendomino" received 6% of the votes. "Gastroseksueel" and "smirten" each received 5% of the vote.
Turkey slap is another term for swaffelen. The phrase gained notoriety in Australia during 2006, after two male contestants in the Big Brother reality TV series performed the act on a female housemate. In the ensuing controversy, the male housemates were expelled from the house and contest for violating the show's terms of agreement.
