Re: Beating the Dutch

Irina Rempt scripsit:

> And here am I thinking that "to go Dutch" meant "you pay for yours, I
> pay for mine", the way that "a Dutch treat" means "een sigaar uit eigen
> doos" (literally "a cigar from one's own box", you get a treat but you
> have to pay for it openly or covertly).
No, both "going Dutch" and "a Dutch treat" describe the same event;
the former phrase is derived from the latter, which is short for
"going for a Dutch treat".

Whether (within reason) the bill is split evenly, or each literally
pays for his or her own exactly, is a fine point that is below the
radar for this idiom.

The fundamental point is that in a "treat", one party pays for the
other; in a "Dutch treat" this does not happen.  I take it that
this is not about greediness per se, but rather stinginess.
Basically the view that one commercial, sea-trading country is going
to take of the other.

--
John Cowan <jcowan@...>     http://www.reutershealth.com
I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen,    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith.  --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_