On Mon, 2004-10-04 at 14:00, Robert Wright wrote: > I'm not sure Eric meant to imply that Dutch folks are in any way inferior, > though I can definitely see your point, Don. I have, however, heard some of > those phrases in my part of the world. I wonder about the origin, as Dutch > Auctions, as well as "going Dutch", are common phrases that mean "even" or > "equal" in terms of value/cost. Hmm. >
Lest I dig my own grave, I'll only offer some insight as to the origin of the terms, some of which likely date to the 1800's and early 1900's. >From the 1913 Webster's Dictionary: http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/Dutch Jack London also wrote a short story entitled "Dutch Courage", which was published in 1900: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/Writings/DutchCourage/dutch.html Dutch metal is defined as a substitute for gold leaf and may still be referred to as such: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/b1/brass.asp For the record, I have more than a touch of Dutch in my family tree. and most of those phrases were alien to me. Loran
