Did you know these idioms refer to countries and nationalities?

The English language is full of idioms, many of which refer to countries and nationalities — and often involve assumptions and biases that non-native English speakers may not share. Why, for instance, is unauthorised absence “French leave” in English and “filer à l’Anglaise” in French? Because for many centuries, the two nationalities didn’t much like each other, and each was only too happy to attribute unattractive behaviour to the other. Similarly, colourful language, full of expletives, is often preceded by a request to “excuse my French”. The words used are blunt Anglo-Saxon, but the intent is to apologise for using swear words and other inappropriate language, which the Englishman implies only the French would do.

Similar cultural prejudices are involved in the expression “going Dutch” for sharing the bill or “Dutch treat” for a meal at which the guest discovers he has to pay his own share. (The English clearly thought the Dutch weren’t very generous, which is, of course, untrue.) There’s also “Dutch courage” for the false bravado expressed by someone who has had too much alcohol to drink. The expression goes back to the days when English and Dutch soldiers were fighting each other in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and the Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1674), when Dutch soldiers allegedly fortified themselves with gin before going to battle. The result of those hostilities is a number of English terms that had ‘Dutch’ added to them as an insult: a “Dutch bargain” is a contract made by someone drunk, a “Dutch feast” is a social occasion where the host gets drunk before the guests, a “Dutch concert” is one where several tunes are played at the same time, and if something is “Double Dutch”, that means it’s nonsense. Though the English and the Dutch are the best of friends now, many of these expressions linger in the language as popular idioms, often used by people without any intention to offend.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com