DisputedFrom the people of the place
Dutch rub
noun · first attested 20th century
It joins Dutch courage and Dutch uncle in English's long grudge against the Dutch.
A schoolyard torment in which knuckles are ground hard against someone's scalp.
Netherlands·Kingdom of the Netherlands
52.3167°N 5.5500°E · Q55
Record
- Relationship
- From the people of the place
- Confidence
- DisputedCompeting explanations remain live.
- Attested
- 20th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Netherlands
- In English
Dutch rub
English built up a family of insulting "Dutch" compounds during the naval and trade rivalries of the 1600s, and later slang kept adding to it. American use muddies the question further, since "Dutch" there often stands instead for Deutsch, meaning German.
Also pinned to Netherlands
3 more from the same place
Kingdom of the Netherlands
All 9 entries 5 more words from Kingdom of the Netherlands
goudaThe cheese is named for the market that sold it.GoudadelftThe blue and white pottery is named for a Dutch city.DelftLimburgerThe cheese is named for a duchy split across three countries.LimburgBelle de BoskoopA Dutch nursery town's chance seedling became a standard European baking apple.Boskoopguelder roseNot a rose, and the "Guelders" in the name is a vanished Dutch duchy.Gelderland