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Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands welcome Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague on Monday. The Netherlands is hosting the Nuclear Security Summit.
© Japan TodayDutch treat
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11 Comments
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Dennis Bauer
Hello Abe this is a kroket, this is how they are supposed to taste :P
sensei258
"Dutch Treat" means that each person pays their own way for whatever the outing is. I'm pretty sure it was we the taxpayers who paid for Abe's trip to the summit. Hope it will be worth it.
ReaperInc
I really don't understand how "Dutch anything" came into the world, stuff really doesn't work that way over here in the Netherlands.
sensei258
No disrespect intended, I wondered about that myself. English if a funny language.
papigiulio
T_rexmaxytime, actually she is Argentinian.
nath
Abe is wondering when she is going to get the tea and biscuits, like the pretty ladies do in Japan.
papigiulio
Isn't the saying "Let's Go Dutch"? Never heard about Dutch Treat. Anyway yeah its based on the fact that Dutch people are really really stingy when it comes to money. We have a saying that goes; "It's only cheap enough when its free", or something like that. :)
T_rexmaxytime
PM Abe must be impressed with the real Dutch wife. He is shaking the hands of that man but looking at the Dutch wife.
Jeff Ogrisseg
Shinzo? Shinzo? Eyes up here, mister!
Iowan
Go Orange!
Frungy
The origin of "Dutch treat", "Dutch courage" and other Dutch idioms apparently date to the 17th century when the English and Dutch were on quite bad terms and any number of negative stereotypes were attributed to the Dutch. The original meaning of Dutch treat was that the person was stingy and mean, although in modern usage the nuance is more neutral. I'm not sure where the Dutch got a reputation for being cheap, but there are other English idioms with a similar theme, like "Dutch ring", where someone rings your phone for just 1 or 2 rings (not enough time to answer), then hangs up in the hopes that you will call them back, thereby saving them the cost of the call.
The same negative nuance can be seen in other phrases like, "Dutch courage", which implies that the person is a coward who needs to drink to become brave.
So, to those who are wondering, the answer is probably historical, and (much like the Scots' reputation for short arms and deep pockets) is probably undeserved.