[Lexicog] Re: Dutch courage

[Leela Pienaar]

Hi all
I found very useful information on Michael Quinion's website re  terms
associated with the word 'Dutch':
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dut1.htm

In the seventeenth century, the Dutch and British were enemies. Both
wanted maritime superiority for economic reasons, especially control of
the sea routes from the rich spice islands of the East Indies. The two
countries fought three wars at sea between the years 1652 and 1674. At
the lowest point of the struggle, in May 1667, the Dutch sailed up the
Medway, sank a lot of ships, and blockaded the Thames. The Dutch were
powerful, they were the enemy, they were the bad guys, and their name
was taken in vain at every opportunity.

The stereotype of the Dutchman among the English at this period was
somebody stolid, miserly, and bad-tempered, and these associations,
especially the stinginess, were linked to several phrases. Only a small
number of them are actually recorded in print from the time of the Dutch
wars, most being of eighteenth century provenance or later. But there's
nothing so long-lasting as traditional enmity; later phrases borrowed
the ideas from earlier ones, and in any case many are certainly older
than their date of first recording.

Examples from the time of the Dutch wars include /Dutch reckoning/, a
bill that is presented without any details, and which only gets bigger
if you question it, and a /Dutch widow/, a prostitute. In the same
spirit, but recorded later, are /Dutch courage/, temporary bravery
induced by alcohol; /Dutch metal/, an alloy of copper and zinc used as a
substitute for gold foil; /Dutch comfort/ or /Dutch consolation/, in
which somebody might say "thank God it is no worse!"; /Dutch concert/,
in which each musician plays a different tune; /Dutch uncle/, someone
who criticises or rebukes you with the frankness of a relative; and
/Dutch treat/, one in which those invited pay for themselves (this last
one first appeared only in the twentieth century, but it continues the
associations).

However, a /Dutch auction/ is strictly not a member of this set, since
it refers to a real practice, still used today for example in the
Netherlands to sell flowers and other produce. Instead of starting low
and going higher, the auction starts with a high price and reduces it.
The first dealer to bid gets the lot at the current price.

But otherwise, you get the idea. Yes, they are pejorative. Using them
requires thoughtful consideration of the offence that might possibly be
given. However, some are now so embedded in the language that direct
associations with the Dutch or the Netherlands have largely been
lost--Dutch uncle, for example.

-Leela Pienaar

--
Leela Pienaar
Associate Editor
Dictionary Unit for South African English
Rhodes University
PO Box 94 Grahamstown 6140
Phone/Fax 046 603 8107


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lexicography/attachments/20050220/8d36ea1f/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 266.1.0 - Release Date: 2005/02/18