Dutch-Concert or Medley, subs. (common).—A sing-song whereat everybody
sings and plays at the same time as everybody else; a hubbub.
1814. Scott, Waverley, ch. xi. And now the Demon of Politics envied
even the harmony arising from this dutch concert, merely because
there was not a wrathful note in the strange compound of sounds
which it produced.
1871. Daily Telegraph, 23 Mar. ‘Lord Derby on Pauperism.’ It
happens that instead of the harmony which should exist where good
men and good women are, working together for a common object, you
have something like what is popularly known as a dutch concert, or
in other words, every man playing his own tune on his own
instrument.
Dutch Consolation, subs. (common).—Job’s comfort; unconsoling
consolation.
1888. All the Year Round, 9 June, p. 542. The expression often
heard, ‘Thank Heaven, it is no worse,’ is sometimes called dutch
consolation.
Dutch-Courage, subs. Pot-valiancy. Cf., Fielding’s Dutch-defence =
sham-defence.
1872. Spencer, Study of Sociology, ch. viii., p. 185 (9th ed.). A
dose of brandy, by stimulating the circulation, produces dutch
courage, as it is called.
1887. Mrs. Lovett Cameron, Neck or Nothing, ch. iv., p. 50. Bob
waited half a second for an answer, glancing uneasily at his
friend’s face, and then he dashed on again with a sort of dutch
courage, for, to tell the truth he wasn’t quite sure how Jack would
take it.
Dutch-Feast, subs. (old).—See quot.
1888. All the Year Round, 9 June, p. 542. Dutch feast is a phrase
now obsolete; it was formerly applied to an entertainment where the
host got drunk before his guests.
Dutch-Gleek, subs. (old). Drinks.
1654. Gayton, Fest. Notes, p. 96. Nor could be partaker of any of
the good cheer, except it were the liquid part of it, which they
call dutch gleek, where he plaied his cards so well, and vied and
revled so often, that he had scarce an eye to see withall.
Dutchman. I’m a Dutchman if I do, phr. (common).—A strong refusal.
[During the wars between England and Holland, Dutch was synonymous with
all that was false and hateful; therefore, ‘I would rather be a
Dutchman’ = the strongest term of refusal that words could express.]
1855. Earl Russell, Memoirs of Thomas Moore. Cope mentioned a good
specimen of English-French, and the astonishment of the French
people who heard it, not conceiving what it could mean—‘Si je fais,
je fais; mais si je fais, je suis un Hollandais.’ ‘If I do, I do;
but if I do, I’m a Dutchman.’
Dutchman’s-Breeches, subs. (nautical).—Two streaks of blue in a cloudy
sky.
Dutchman’s-Drink, subs. (common).—A draught that empties the pot.
Dutch-treat, subs. (common).—An entertainment where everyone pays his
shot.
1887. Lippincott’s Mag., Aug., p. 191. ‘You’ll come along too,
won’t you?’ Lancelot demanded of Ormizon! Dutch treat, vous savez!
Dutch Uncle. I will talk to you like a Dutch uncle, phr. (common).—I
will reprove you smartly. [The Dutch were renowned for the brutality of
their discipline. Uncle is the Latin notion of pat’ruus, ‘an uncle,’
‘severe guardian,’ or ‘stern castigator.’ Hence Horace, 3 Od. xii. 3,
Metuentes patruæ verbera linguæ (dreading the castigations of an
uncle’s tongue); and 2 Sat. iii. 88, Ne sis patruus mihi (Don’t come
the uncle over me). A Dutch uncle = therefore, an uncle of peculiar
fierceness.]
1853. Notes and Queries, 1 S., vii., 65. In some parts of America,
when a person has determined to give another a regular lecture, he
will often be heard to say, I will talk to him like a dutch uncle;
that is, he shall not escape this time.
1869. East Anglian, vol. III., p. 350. [In list of Suffolk sea
words]: ‘There were the squires on the bench, but I took heart, and
talked to ’em like a dutch uncle.’
Dutch-widow, subs. (old).—A prostitute. For synonyms, see Barrack-hack
and cf., Grass-widow.
1608. Middleton, Trick to Catch the Old One, III., iii. Dra. Yes, a
dutch widow. Hoa. How? Dra. That’s an English drab, sir.
Dutch-wife, subs. (common).—A bolster.
Dying in a Horse’s Nightcap. Dying by the rope; cf., Horse’s Nightcap.
E
Eagle-takers, subs. (military).—The Eighty-Seventh Foot. [The title was
gained at Barossa (1811), when it captured the eagle of the 8th French
Light Infantry. Its colours also bear ‘the plume of the Prince of
Wales’ and ‘the harp and crown,’ an eagle with a wreath of laurel.] It
was also nicknamed ‘The Old Fogs’; also ‘The Faugh-a-Ballagh Boys,’
from Fag an bealac! = ‘Clear the Way,’ the regimental march, and the
war-cry at Barossa.
Ear. To send away with a flea in the ear, verb. phr. (common).—To
dismiss peremptorily and with a scolding. Fr., mettre la puce à
l’oreille = to get angry.
1764–1817. J. G. Holman, Abroad and at Home, ii., 1. I could not
think of Miss Hartley being troubled with such a brute of a fellow
... so, an’t please you, my lady, I sent him away with a flea in
his ear.
1841. Comic Almanack, p. 280. One thing is very clear, If they
ain’t off of their own accord, the Lord Mayor will soon help ’em
off with a flea in their ear.
1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 202. Her husband had
with difficulty restrained her from sending Forrest away with what
in homely language is denominated a flea in his ear.
To bite the ear.—See Bite and Break Shins.
To get up on one’s ear, verb. phr. (American).—To bestir oneself; to
rouse oneself for an effort.
1870. Richard Grant White. Words and their Uses. They called me
bully boy, altho’ I’ve seen nigh three-score years, And said that I
was lightning when I got up on my ear.
1888. Puck’s Library, May, p. 15. A man who walked on his ear out
of a store said ‘he came out on the Erie route.’