"Appongeluk" named Netherlands' word or the year

The Netherland's word of the year is 'appongeluk' - a traffic accident in which at least one of the involved parties were busy on their smartphones, Van Dale announced on Tuesday. Nearly 70 thousand votes were cast for the word of the year. Appongeluk won with 20 percent of the votes.

Second place went to 'fipronilei' - eggs contaminated by toxic pesticide fipronil. And third place went to 'reenboogtaal', referring to gender neutral language, for example when addressing a person.

The public could also vote for their favorite words in five different categories. Under youth language, the word 'fidgetspinner' came in first. A fidget spinner is a toy consisting of a ball bearing in the center of a multi-lobed flat structure, designed to spin easily along its axis. This toy took the world by storm earlier this year.

Under the lifestyle category, first place went to 'tuintegeltax' - a tax imposed on people who cover their gardens with tiles, making rain water harder to drain. '

The winner of the sports and amusement category is 'rolkoffertoerisme', referring to tourists staying in private homes in large cities, where tourists travel with their wheeled-suitcases from the train station to their accommodation.

'Aflosboete' won in the economy category, referring to the government abolishing the tax exemption on the notional rental value for people who paid off their mortgages. Many feel that this is a kind of fine for repaying your mortgage.

And in the political category, the prize went to 'terreurschwalbe' - a statement or argument made by a politician to try and create support for draconian anti-terrorism measures by emphasizing that the terrorism threat increases if these measures are not taken.