Straightaway, I started to wonder, what exactly is a Dutch perspective? Or rather, what is Dutch about my perspective. Do I have one, just because I was born in the Netherlands and lived there half my life? That’s just it, the other half of my life I have lived in France and Portugal. How Dutch can my perspective still be?

Let’s give you a bit of insight into the Dutch. There are many, some not very positive, expressions in the English language about the Dutch.

Dutch courage

How about Dutch courage? Meaning a stiff drink (probably Dutch jenever) will make you get your courage up. And if two people have been drinking together they could come to a Dutch agreement, which most likely neither will remember the next day. And if they do, they will probably dispute ever having entered into such an agreement.

A Dutch auction is the opposite of any normal auction, where the price goes up and up until the bidding stops. The Dutch auction works the other way around; the price goes down until a buyer is found.

Does anyone know a Dutch uncle? A candid critic that will set you straight, this can be in a positive or negative, berating way.

Double Dutch

Double Dutch is when someone speaks too fast or unintelligibly. Gobbledygook. A Dutch roll, surprisingly, is not a cheese sandwich, but a left-to-right wing tipping of an aeroplane.

Going Dutch is when you go out for a meal with someone, and each pays for their own meal.

Dutch treat

A Dutch treat is something similar, but unexpected. You are invited for lunch or dinner, and, surprise!, when the bill comes, you are expected to pay for your share. If that happens, take a Dutch leave… Run and don’t come back!

In the end there’s always the comfort of a Dutch wife. John Cleese once mentioned her in an interview on Dutch TV. The interviewer asked what it was, and John Cleese explained it is a plastic inflatable woman! Although, it apparently also could be a long thick pillow, or a hot water bottle, but the Japanese associated it with an inflatable doll. There can be comfort in all of these, I suppose.

Credits: Unsplash; Author: jennieramida;

Pointing fingers

It is said that the Netherlands is a country of pastors and teachers. Finger pointing everyone in the right direction, which is the Dutch direction, obviously. The pointing is done with the index finger, not THE finger!

You may think we are judgmental people, and you’re right, we are! We always know better and we want to be the best pupil in the class, the teacher’s pet. We also want to point it out to you by being quite direct in our communication, or so everyone tells us!

A good example is Mark Rutte, now Nato’s chief, calling President Trump ‘daddy’. Trump has been known to say he loves the Dutch and wants to make the Netherlands the 51st state of the USA. That is just a bridge too far!

Generalised idea

So, now you have a very generalised idea of what the Dutch are like. We are not just tall people wearing wooden shoes and riding bikes. Take me, I am not tall and don’t wear wooden shoes. Though I have been known to ride a bike, to school, to work, for fun.

But having said that, this may mostly apply to the older generation of Dutch, of which I am one. The young ones, Gen Z, for instance, might regard this totally differently.

In view of this, my “Dutch” perspective may not be so Dutch anymore, taking into account also the considerable French and Portuguese influences.

Be that as it may, my perspective is mine and mine alone.