# Straffe Ketten



## se16teddy

Can anybody please explain the meaning of “Straffe Ketten”, the name of the gay rugby club in Brussels? http://www.straffeketten.be/
Some reports suggest that it means “tight chains” but I wonder if this is confusing Dutch, or Brussels dialect, with German. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian-mentz/european-gay-rugby-tourna_b_7458760.html
I don’t know Dutch any more than I can guess from a knowledge of English and German, and a few trips to Belgium and Holland, but I see that “straf” can mean “strong” but also “stiff”, and “ket” can mean “horse”, so maybe the sense is “strong as a horse” - but perhaps insinuating something more priapic?!
http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/straf2
http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/ket1


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## Peterdg

"Ket" (or its diminutive, "ketje")is a word from the  dialect of Brussels. (I'm from Brussels, so I know)

It has several  meanings that are pretty close to each other.

1) a young boy spending most of his time on the streets.
2) a boy that has not reached adulthood yet
3) surname for someone from Brussels.

"Straf/straffe" in this context is also from Flemish dialect (not exclusively for Brussels) and means "strong", both literally and metophorically at the same time (in this case meaning they can accomplish extraordinary things).


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## YellowOnline

Peterdg said:


> "Ket" (or its diminutive, "ketje")is a word from the  dialect of Brussels. (I'm from Brussels, so I know)
> 
> It has several  meanings that are pretty close to each other.
> 
> 1) a young boy spending most of his time on the streets.
> 2) a boy that has not reached adulthood yet
> 3) surname for someone from Brussels.
> 
> "Straf/straffe" in this context is also from Flemish dialect (not exclusively for Brussels) and means "strong", both literally and metophorically at the same time (meaning they can accomplish extraordinary things).



Totally correct. The "chains" would have been "keten" or "ketting" by the way. And "ket" is related to the English word "kid" (as visible in your second link), coming from the Proto-Germanic word for _goat_ by the way. Can't look it up easily on my mobile phone.


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## se16teddy

Thank you, Peterdg and YellowOnline. The author of the Huffington Post article has acknowledged the error! In the "Conversations" at the bottom of this page: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian-mentz/european-gay-rugby-tourna_b_7458760.html


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## YellowOnline

Som


se16teddy said:


> Thank you, Peterdg and YellowOnline. The author of the Huffington Post article has acknowledged the error! In the "Conversations" at the bottom of this page: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian-mentz/european-gay-rugby-tourna_b_7458760.html



Someone should tell the author it's the _kolenmarkt_ too and not the _kohlmarkt_ - although in German that would be a perfect translation.


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## ThomasK

As for 'straf', it means 'strong' indeed, but not with persons. One can have 'straffe koffie' in Flanders, and say "Dat is straf", suggesting it is hard to believe, not really strong. Uncommon in the Netherlands, I suppose...


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