Idiom
go Dutch
Meaning
To pay for one's own food and bills, or split the cost, when eating at a restaurant or going out for entertainment.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Let's go Dutch and split the bill.”
“On their first date, they agreed to go Dutch so neither person felt awkward about money.”
“Though he had invited her to the concert, she insisted they go Dutch, unwilling to let him shoulder the expense alone.”
Examples
simple
“Let's go Dutch and split the bill.”
contextual
“On their first date, they agreed to go Dutch so neither person felt awkward about money.”
complex
“Though he had invited her to the concert, she insisted they go Dutch, unwilling to let him shoulder the expense alone.”
Origin
First attested in 1914, the idiom is a derivative of the phrase Dutch treat. It stems from the use of Dutch as a derogatory term for ersatz or poor imitations, an insult originally directed generically toward German-speaking peoples as a whole.
Key words
Related idioms
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