Archives: Dutch treat

Posted by R. Berg on July 11, 2003

In Reply to: Archives: Dutch treat posted by Lotg on July 11, 2003

: : : What is the origin of Dutch treat or Let's go Dutch? Why not British treat or French treat or Let's go Chinese or German?

: : Basically, because the English disliked the Dutch, as the archive entry linked below explains. For more information, type "dutch treat" in the archive-search box.

: ::: Wow, this is fabulous stuff. Although I thought it was kind of 'Freudian' (could be the wrong term here) that the writer in the archive makes this statement: "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 'lowest point' to whom - not the Dutch methinks. So this archival response appears to have been written by an English person.

No, he's American. He was admittedly writing as if from the English point of view because that point of view produced "Dutch treat" and similar phrases (is that a fair statement, Bruce?). The last few words of the archived post show that he didn't endorse such language.

• Dutch treat (archived)

• Low Countries Lewis 07/11/03
  • Low Countries Henry 07/11/03
    • Low Countries EE 07/11/03
      • Low Countries R. Berg 07/12/03
        • Low Countries EE 07/12/03