Many of the "Dutch" expressions heard in American English were first used in England in the seventeenth century.
That was a time of fierce neighbor competition between England and the Netherlands.
At that time, the British used "Dutch" as a word for something bad, or false, or mistaken.
A Dutch agreement was one made between men who had drunk too much alcohol.
Dutch courage was the false courage produced by their facts of drinking alcohol.
And Dutch leave was what a solider took when he left his base without permission.
Some of these old expressions are still used today with a little different meaning.
Dutch treat is one example. Long ago, a Dutch treat was a dinner at which the invited guests were expected to pay for their own share of the food and drink.
Now, Dutch treat means that when friends go out to have fun, each person pays his own share.
Another common expression heard a few years ago was "In Dutch".
If someone said to you, you were in Dutch. They were telling you that you were in trouble.
