Dutch courage

English

Etymology

This dates back to a time of intense political rivalry between England and the Netherlands, and was originally an ethnic slur.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

Dutch courage (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) The courage or bravado induced by alcohol.

   Synonyms: liquid courage, pot-valiancy

   • 2010, Minette Walters, The Shape of Snakes, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:

     I was beginning to wish I'd had the sense to spend the last hour in a pub. Dutch courage would have been better than no courage at all.

2. (idiomatic) An alcoholic drink, taken to bolster one's courage.
   • 2015, R.A. Barnes, Peril: A Ger Mayes Crime Novel, Marble City Publishing, →ISBN:

     Another five minutes wait and we finally raise glasses in a toast to the evening. ‘So, what's the plan?’ ‘Well, we can go straight to the casino after this or we can get half a skinful of Dutch courage.’

Translations

courage induced by alcohol

• Dutch: jenevermoed (nl) m, dronkenmansmoed (nl) m
• Finnish: humalaisen rohkeus
• Scottish Gaelic: misneachd òil f

alcoholic drink

• Finnish: rohkaisuryyppy (fi)

Further reading

• Dutch courage on Wikipedia.Wikipedia