Dutch courage, French leave, Indian giver and other set expressions with nationality adjectives or nouns
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- VictorB
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For no particular reason, I started making a list of English set expressions with nationality adjectives or nouns. I want to amass them into a collection as extensive as possible, just for the fun of it. It may be that someone here will find this list useful, at least in terms of expanding their vocabulary. And I do hope that someone who knows such expressions not listed below will kindly share them with me and the others who might be interested.
Here's the list:
Chinese puzzle
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... e%20puzzle
Chinese fire drill
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... fire_drill
Chinese compliment
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Chinese+compliment
Russian roulette
Black Russian
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Black+Russian
Russian doll
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Russian+doll
French kiss
Eskimo kiss
https://wisetoast.com/20-different-type ... ally-mean/
French letter
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... nch_letter
French leave
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... ch%20leave
excuse (or pardon) my French
Dutch treat
double Dutch
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... le%20Dutch
Dutch courage
Dutch uncle
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Dutch+uncle
Dutch auction
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... %20auction
Dutch door
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Dutch%20door
(be) in Dutch (with someone)
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+Dutch
(as) American as apple pie
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amer ... pple%20pie
It's all Greek to me
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ru/%D1 ... reek-to-me
Greek meets Greek
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... eets-greek
body English
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... %20English
in plain/simple English
Queen's English
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... 's_english
catch a Tartar
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/catch+a+Tartar
worth a Jew's eye
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/wo ... ew%27s+eye
Indian giver
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... dian_giver
Indian summer
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... n%20summer
German goiter
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/German_goiter
Mexican breakfast
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Mexican+breakfast
walk Spanish
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_boa ... /1099.html
Here's the list:
Chinese puzzle
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... e%20puzzle
Chinese fire drill
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... fire_drill
Chinese compliment
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Chinese+compliment
Russian roulette
Black Russian
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Black+Russian
Russian doll
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Russian+doll
French kiss
Eskimo kiss
https://wisetoast.com/20-different-type ... ally-mean/
French letter
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... nch_letter
French leave
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... ch%20leave
excuse (or pardon) my French
Dutch treat
double Dutch
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... le%20Dutch
Dutch courage
Dutch uncle
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Dutch+uncle
Dutch auction
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... %20auction
Dutch door
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Dutch%20door
(be) in Dutch (with someone)
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+Dutch
(as) American as apple pie
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amer ... pple%20pie
It's all Greek to me
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ru/%D1 ... reek-to-me
Greek meets Greek
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... eets-greek
body English
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... %20English
in plain/simple English
Queen's English
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... 's_english
catch a Tartar
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/catch+a+Tartar
worth a Jew's eye
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/wo ... ew%27s+eye
Indian giver
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... dian_giver
Indian summer
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... n%20summer
German goiter
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/German_goiter
Mexican breakfast
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Mexican+breakfast
walk Spanish
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_boa ... /1099.html
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VictorB, oh, I like the idea... Your list is already long enough but I'll try to add sth to your collection.
First of all, there were quite a few idioms with Dutch here on the forum and I'll try to look for them and come back with them in a while.
What I remember, is go Dutch - that's about sharing a bill when eating out (you have alredy a Dutch treat on your list).
the flying Dutchman
A bit more (I'll try to follow the order you set):
the Amreican dream
Chinese whispers - "Сломанный телефон" (игра)
...not for all the tea in China
An Englishman's home is his castle.
English breakfast
Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
German silver - мельхиор
Mexican wave (BrE)
castles in Spain (BrE) = castles in the air
more holes than Swiss cheese
When in Rome, do as Romans do.
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being a passionate champion of useless not very practical stuff ))
First of all, there were quite a few idioms with Dutch here on the forum and I'll try to look for them and come back with them in a while.
What I remember, is go Dutch - that's about sharing a bill when eating out (you have alredy a Dutch treat on your list).
the flying Dutchman
A bit more (I'll try to follow the order you set):
the Amreican dream
Chinese whispers - "Сломанный телефон" (игра)
...not for all the tea in China
An Englishman's home is his castle.
English breakfast
Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
German silver - мельхиор
Mexican wave (BrE)
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more holes than Swiss cheese
When in Rome, do as Romans do.
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Yep, remember 'em all.)
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Have been familiar with them since when I helped with translating a friend's research on those Dutch (and other nationality/ethnicity/toponymic) idioms back in uni.
Since c. 1600, Dutch (adj.) has been a "pejorative label pinned by English speakers on almost anything they regard as inferior, irregular, or contrary to 'normal' (i.e., their own) practice" [Rawson].
E.g. ironical Dutch treat, of each person paying for himself (1887), Dutch courage "boldness inspired by intoxicating spirits" (1809), nautical Dutch talent "any piece of work not done in shipshape style (1867), etc. -- probably exceeded in such usage only by Indian and Irish -- reflecting first British commercial and military rivalry and later heavy German immigration to U.S.
Dutch concert, a concert in which each one sings his own song at the same time that his neighbor sings his; or a concert in which each one sings a verse of any song he pleases, some well-known chorus being sung after each verse. [Century Dictionary, 1897]Dutch oven is from 1769; OED lists it among the words describing things from Holland, but perhaps it is here used in the slighting sense. Dutch elm disease (1927) so called because it was first discovered in Holland (caused by fungus Ceratocystis ulmi). A Dutch uncle (1838) is one who is kindly severe and direct.The Dutch themselves spoke English well enough to understand the unsavory connotations of the label and in 1934 Dutch officials were ordered by their government to stop using the term Dutch. Instead, they were to rewrite their sentences so as to employ the official The Netherlands. [Rawson]
The latter one being, perhaps, the only semi-positive expression of them all.)
So, whenever you come across a Dutch-related idiom you've never seen before, it is hardly likely to be complimentary.)
BTW, one might look up many of them nationality idioms just by typing over the word after the last slash in the address bar here:
Код: Выделить всё
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Dutch
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Поглядим на цитату из этого Merriam Webster:VictorB пишет: ↑07 апр 2019, 04:03 French leave
https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... ch%20leave
Тут самое интересное то что leave в French leave не имеет никакого отношения к глаголу to leave в том же предложении.: an informal, hasty, or secret departure
But as I was certain I should not be allowed to leave the enclosure, my only plan was to take French leave and slip out when nobody was watching …
— Robert Louis Stevenson
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Mary May,
I've just come across "to welsh on (a bet/deal)", which to me, is the only (so far) verb derived from a nationality adjective.
http://www.englishandculture.com/blog/b ... n-Language
I've just come across "to welsh on (a bet/deal)", which to me, is the only (so far) verb derived from a nationality adjective.
http://www.englishandculture.com/blog/b ... n-Language
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Я встречал это слово в книге The Man of Property, Galsworthy и насколько помню словари не давали такую этимологию. Также как с глаголом to scotch.
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Among the English, Welsh was used disparagingly of inferior or substitute things (such as Welsh cricket "louse" (1590s); Welsh comb "thumb and four fingers" (1796), and compare welch (v.)). Welsh rabbit is from 1725, also perverted by folk-etymology as Welsh rarebit (1785).
welch (v.)
1857, racing slang, "to refuse or avoid payment of money laid as a bet," probably a disparaging use of the national name Welsh.
A related colloquialism is the verb to welsh/welch ('to renege') as in 'to Welsh/welch on a deal or bet', which may be derived from an age-old 'English' stereotype of the Welsh/Celtic peoples as unreliable oath-breakers, though that etymology remains conjectural.
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Why, here's 'polish it up' and 'to finnish' for you!)))
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There's also ' to rush in, 'to slow-vac', 'to malt-ese', 'chew'-ish and 'belch-in' (as opposite of 'belch out'), and 'to Thai a knot', of course...)
Такой вот чаёк по-капитански...)To add liquor to a beverage.
Someone hands you a plain glass of egg nog and then asks, "Want me to Irish it up for you?" They mean to pour rum in it, or some other liquor.
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So when I am treating a native English-speaking guest to a coffee and there's a bottle of cognac at hand, will it be okay to use it? Would it matter (to not sound odd) whether they are British or American?
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I found out that the verb to scotch is unrelated to the adjective Scotch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_(adjective)
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I wouldn't hesitate to experiment with it (the phrase) and see their reaction.)
There was this 7UP FREE ad campaign which used this phrase in a more literal innocent way.)
7 UP FREE are campaigning for people to 'Irish It UP' for Paddy's Day
Just don't do that to someone who is on the wagon:Check out this video of 7UP's Irish It UP campaign coming to life on Camden Street, Dublin
СпойлерПоказать7UP FREE created a special installation as part of their St. Patrick's Day campaign, with a very special take on the Statue of Liberty, turning it into something more Irish!
7UP FREE are looking for you to show your own Irish-isms - the ‘Irish it UP’ competition offers tickets to those who come up with their own take on a well-known saying or slogan, using the App on the 7UP FREE website.
Winners get to go to a very special gig in The Village on March 16th with music and craic, and with The Coronas headlining the entertainment.
Go to www.7UP.ie for more details.
- Want me to Irish it up for you?
- Please, don't! I don't want to get polished like last time I fell off the wagon!
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There're two more very interesting meanings here:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define. ... utch%20cap
and the one which seems to be original (used the earliest in time) here (1.):
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dutch_cap
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They're not idioms, but items of food/drink (both yummy, BTW).
Irish coffee (closely related to Irishing sth up -- I know that now :)
Scotch eggs (tasty and easy to make).
Irish coffee (closely related to Irishing sth up -- I know that now :)
Scotch eggs (tasty and easy to make).
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Mary May, Yety, and the others who came forward,
Thank you very much for helping me with the list I've spent most of the weekend compiling. Now, I find it extensive enough (nearing to 60 expressions), to call it a day. Thanks to you, more than twenty new items have been added, and I'm quite satisfied with the work done.
Thank you very much for helping me with the list I've spent most of the weekend compiling. Now, I find it extensive enough (nearing to 60 expressions), to call it a day. Thanks to you, more than twenty new items have been added, and I'm quite satisfied with the work done.
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Chinese puzzle
Chinese fire drill
Chinese compliment
Chinese whispers
(On a) Slow boat to China
Chinese arithmetic
Not for all the tea in China
Russian roulette
Black Russian
Russian doll
Russian Volume Lashes
Eskimo kiss
French kiss
French letter
(Take a) French leave
Excuse (or pardon) my French
French grey
Prussian blue
Dutch treat
Double Dutch
Dutch courage
Dutch uncle
Dutch auction
Dutch door
Dutch concert
Dutch treat
Go Dutch
Dutch oven
(Be) in Dutch (with someone)
(As) American as apple pie
The American dream
It's all Greek to me
Greek meets Greek
Body English
In plain/simple English
Queen's English
An Englishman's home is his castle.
English breakfast
Catch a Tartar
Worth a Jew's eye
Indian giver
Indian summer
Too many chiefs and not enough Indians
(Walk/Arrange/Form) Indian file
German goiter
German silver
Mexican wave
Mexican breakfast
Walk Spanish
Castles in Spain
More holes than Swiss cheese
When in Rome, do as Romans do
Rome wasn't built in one day
Welsh cricket
Welsh comb
To welsh on (a bet/deal)
A young Turk
Irish up
Chinese fire drill
Chinese compliment
Chinese whispers
(On a) Slow boat to China
Chinese arithmetic
Not for all the tea in China
Russian roulette
Black Russian
Russian doll
Russian Volume Lashes
Eskimo kiss
French kiss
French letter
(Take a) French leave
Excuse (or pardon) my French
French grey
Prussian blue
Dutch treat
Double Dutch
Dutch courage
Dutch uncle
Dutch auction
Dutch door
Dutch concert
Dutch treat
Go Dutch
Dutch oven
(Be) in Dutch (with someone)
(As) American as apple pie
The American dream
It's all Greek to me
Greek meets Greek
Body English
In plain/simple English
Queen's English
An Englishman's home is his castle.
English breakfast
Catch a Tartar
Worth a Jew's eye
Indian giver
Indian summer
Too many chiefs and not enough Indians
(Walk/Arrange/Form) Indian file
German goiter
German silver
Mexican wave
Mexican breakfast
Walk Spanish
Castles in Spain
More holes than Swiss cheese
When in Rome, do as Romans do
Rome wasn't built in one day
Welsh cricket
Welsh comb
To welsh on (a bet/deal)
A young Turk
Irish up
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Here is the full version: When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of warVictorB пишет: ↑07 апр 2019, 04:03 Greek meets Greek
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... eets-greek
http://proverbhunter.com/when-greek-mee ... ug-of-war/
https://www.google.com/search?q=tug+of+ ... 42&bih=568
So, it's more than just "two equals meet". It's about two equally stubborn people confronting each other (as I see it).
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Это наглое перевирание оригинала с искажением смысла:
Мне повезло - первый раз я встретил правильную цитату в книге Trilby, 1894, George Du Maurier. Поэтому когда сегодня я увидел эту чушь в The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891, Oscar Wilde, я сразу заподозрил неладное. Очередной раз убедился в том что Oscar Wilde - мусор.
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VictorB, не знаю, интересна ли вам эта тема все еще. Ну, пусть будет на форуме такой сборник, добавлю к тем ambiguous выражениями, которые я вам в личку отправляла:
Russian lashes, turkish lips
Вот здесь много с Dutch https://www.taalvoutjes.nl/boekrecensie-the-dutchionary
Russian lashes, turkish lips
Вот здесь много с Dutch https://www.taalvoutjes.nl/boekrecensie-the-dutchionary
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