Talk:Going Dutch

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North America[edit]

Why is there no discussion in the international section about North America -- specifically the U.S. and Canada? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2607:FB90:2205:5D86:1809:1FDD:7E13:8EE2 (talk) 15:34, 15 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2005 discussion[edit]

This can be perceived as unfair for those who drink or eat less (usually women relative to men). I removed the part noting women eating generally eating less than men. This sounds kind of stereotypical (and as far as I've witnessed, the women I've seen eat as much as guys on average). MardukZero 01:13, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Is is quite plausible to me, this behaviour originates from the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, it is common practice people which are not married, pay seperately. Dutch women even could get offended when men offer to pay all; an association with prostitution is often made is this case. I'm coming from the Netherlands, so I know. 20:23CET, 14 Jul 2005

Well, you might be from the Netherlands but the assumption that Dutch women think that you think she is a prostitute if you offer to pay for her dinner is just nonsense. Maybe radically feminist ones or something. It could be that some get offended by such an offer, but normally IF a woman objects to having her dinner paid she would just decline in a polite manner. Trust me, i'm from the Netherlands 'so I know';-) Maybe Dutch women tend to object to such an offer more often than women from other western countries, I don't know but it wouldn't suprise me. --Vunzmstr 13:54, 24 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

This appeared before the contents because it did not have a heading, so I gave it a heading rather than deleting it. --Catch153 (talk) 01:23, 30 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Dutch Teabreak[edit]

I'd be interested to see if people deem this phrase worthy of inclusion: Basically it's a euphemism for masturbation - but many of you knew this already - it's certainly in keeping with the negative stereotypes of the Dutch.

It does not belong in this article, as it does not explain the subject of going Dutch. If it belongs anywhere, it would be the Dutch disambiguation page, which currently contains slang terms of that sort. However, I don't know if it's really notable. MagnesianPhoenix (talk) 09:43, 1 January 2008 (UTC) [signed retroactively][reply]

I've always thought that, although it is a general euphemism for masturbation, it specifically refers to masturbating in the workplace http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dutch+Tea+Break. (87.112.66.13 (talk) 11:41, 27 September 2008 (UTC))[reply]

In Spain, and catalonians[edit]

I can't speak for the whole catalonia, but in barcelona it's certainly indeed that we follow the "Dutch Date". Primarly due to high cost of living. We call it "Pagar a escote". For instance in a meal of close friends everyone looks at the bill and puts money for whatever he has taken. When going with just another person, one pays everything, but the next meal the other pays. As for romantic dates it's quite similar. And I'd feel offensed if I had to pay always for a given girl. And she'd as well if I was always paying (or the other way). We tend to an equilibrium.

What do they say in Holland?[edit]

I hear it's "Going American"... Dsmouse 17:40, 2 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

True, its called a "Amerikaans Feest" (American Party) or "Going American :) A Duck

"Amerikaans feest"? No, that is not the same. An "Amerikaans feest" (American Party) is a party in a private house (or garden) to which all the guests bring drinks and food, which is divided among all the guests. Thus the host does not bring in all the nourishment and beverages himself. <br\>
"Going Dutch" does not have an equal translation in Dutch. Most commonly used is the expression that the group pays the bill "every man for himself" ("ieder voor zich"). In practice though this way of paying is not very common in The Netherlands. It is not considered very polite to calculate exactly the amount you ate or drank for. Usually the bill is split up in equal parts. So if you ate out with a group of 4, you pay 1/4th of the bill even if the others used more (or less!) than you did. This way of paying hardly has any connections with stinginess, but more with the idea of equallity.Hettie van Nes 18:32, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Previous poster is right, so why is it still in? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.167.250.126 (talk) 21:07, 15 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Even though Americans would call this practice "Going Dutch", there is no Dutch translation for it because it simply isn't the norm in The Netherlands. Usually one person pays. It's normal that in a group of close friends, each time a different person will pick up the bill. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.156.68.176 (talk) 10:16, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Another part of western world...[edit]

Dutch is not the only place where it is common to pay separately. Here in Québec, checks are usually given one per person. It is not much a matter of a girl being offended to be treated as a prostitute, but she would maybe think that it looks as if she cannot pay for herself or that your really have a strong romantic interest towards her. I totally like it that way (let's be autonomous), and I really think it tends to bring awkward moments when two friends of opposite sex go somewhere and the waiter brings only one bill, which usually fall on the guy. It was just a little feminine input here...

Ironically[edit]

Is it really ironic that women nowadays prefer men to pay? What sort of irony? -- Strib 03:10, 16 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Modern Dutch Dates[edit]

I dont think that the bit about a woman offering to pay, and if her offer is accepted, she assumes the man is dissinterested is entirely correct. Having studied a bit of psychology in the dating aspect of human interactions, I dont think that that statement is accurate enough to include it in an encyclopedia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 208.96.79.107 (talk) 21:49, 6 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]


Probably not. I'm from Sweden, and the young women's magazines over here actually tell women to never assume that the man will pay. He will probably consider it quite rude if she don't offer to pay her part of the bill. - Anneli —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.228.64.5 (talk) 12:28, 10 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology[edit]

(Personal research alert)
I can't remember when, but "Going Dutch" appeared as a synonym and eventual replacement for the common expression, "Dutch Treat," i.e. no treat at all. Thus it originates in the use of "Dutch" meaning "spurious": Dutch Book, Dutch Courage . . . . Jackaroodave 18:58, 16 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The whole article seems nonsense to me. The origin lies in the 17th century England and Holland were rivals. They fought wars in 1652-54, 1665-67 and 1672-74 and the Dutch were kicking England's ass. Sayings like Dutch Courage, poking that the Dutch had to drink alcohol to build up their courage, Dutch treat (meaning you pay for yourself, suggesting the Dutch are cheap) and Double Dutch, meaning gibberish, originate from this area. This should be the starting point of the article if it wants to be accurate. Then, you continue from this point, and can describe how this old term was used to describe modern dating practices. Excuse me for saying, but crap like the Dutch feminism movement is hilarious and originates from a imaginative mind. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.146.8.13 (talk) 19:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]


The Chinese term: "AA制 (AA zhì)," originated in Hong Kong in Cantonese. The character "A" looks like a standing person, so "AA" implies paying for your own portion. Dccheung678 (talk) 15:22, 20 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I am 90 percent certain that the "Dutch" in "going Dutch" actually refers to Germans (as in "Pennsylvania Dutch") and that the phrase originates with the German (or at least German-American) beer-garden practice of everyone buying one's own beer instead of taking turns buying rounds. I'm trying to remember where I read this -- it may have been The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg. --Geenius at Wrok (talk) 12:20, 6 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Etiquette[edit]

Does the Etiquette section strike anyone else as outdated? It is indeed important to discuss the traditional precursor, and maybe I'm just one of those "less affluent people," but isn't splitting the bill the de facto common method? And do any restaurants still have "ladies' menus"? 74.32.163.89 (talk) 09:43, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

go Dutch = pagar a escote[edit]

As the article says, the slag is "pagar a escote" in Spanish. However, in this phrase the word "escote" (quota, share) does not have any relation with the homograph "escote" (cleavage, neckline). At least, not in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Espanola. --Jean Yevenes (talk) 20:46, 18 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Italy - alla romana incorrect[edit]

If the information on the italian wikipedia entry is correct, "alla romana" actually means splitting the bill in equal parts regardless of how much everybody actually consumed, as opposed to "alla genovese" which actually means that everybody pays for what he or she consumed.This page probably isn't really the place for that detailed information, but the example about italy should be changed nontheless, right? has anybody an idea about how to do that? --Krishano (talk) 00:07, 29 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If it's any consolation, in Argentina we use "a la romana" in the same way as you describe. Furthermore, I've never *heard* of "a la americana", which the article states is the idiom used here. It's not. For that matter, we don't usually use "americano" to refer to North Americans or their customs, either The andf (talk) 01:32, 29 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Apna Apna (incorrect?)[edit]

I've just asked a friend here who is from Pakistan and he says that Apna Apna actually translates to "Every man for himself". This probably isn't quite the intended meaning. He also says that over in Pakistan his friends refered to it as "English style" (so the same way as Egypt). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.32.177.216 (talk) 13:59, 13 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Everyone here is discussing their experience. Citations are needed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.115.166.174 (talk) 17:57, 12 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is it good to discuss etiquette under the definition of a slang phrase?[edit]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place for a discussion of etiquette. Slang phrases are seldom universal, and I suppose that some people and regions do not use this phrase or find the phrase to be mildly offensive. I've often heard the practice called "splitting the bill." Maybe the discussion of etiquette could fall under a completely different heading: customs for paying for meals or something like this. --Catch153 (talk) 01:23, 30 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This is garbage[edit]

The whole article seems to be dwelling on its modern usage as away of paying separately when eating out. That is what it's known as now. The idea of paying for yourself should be in a separate article, to give a global perspective. This article is to with a pejorative.

The term "going Dutch" grew out of the British English expression of a "dutch treat" which meant "unexpectedly being obliged to pay for something that appeared to be offered as a gift". For example, They invited me to the theatre and I had to buy my own ticket, what a "Dutch treat"!

This article needs to be completely rewritten, the etiquette section is a joke, there are no references for the phrases, they could all be made up. It's like a junior high essay paper.

Most of this article should be put in a page about dating.109.156.28.127 (talk) 23:25, 4 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Dutch courage" is a negative stereotype?[edit]

The article says English rivalry with the Netherlands especially during the period of the Anglo-Dutch Wars gave rise to several phrases including Dutch that promote certain negative stereotypes. Example: Dutch courage.

The Dutch courage article says that the idea of alcohol-induced courage is derived from "Dutch gin", created by a Dutch doctor and subsequently used by troops in battle. There's no mention of any national characteristic, real or otherwise, of the Dutch people. 92.29.25.218 (talk) 13:18, 28 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Introduction[edit]

I don't think this sentence is really needed: "Splitting the bill is generally easier to compute, as it does not require checking what each individual ordered, but has the downside that people who ordered more expensive items are subsidized by others, and may be encouraged to order more expensive items knowing that their costs will be subsidized."

It's over-description: I doubt there's anybody out there who needs the implications of splitting a bill explained to them. Bandanamerchant (talk) 00:45, 19 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Adding Indonesian take on the term.[edit]

Add commonly accepted practice. Eko van jakarta (talk) 04:21, 27 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Article needs citations[edit]

For example, it mentions that going Dutch is taboo in India. From my own 22 years of experience, and countless restaurant dinner-table competitions over who gets to pay the bill, I can confidently assert that this is not the case. In fact, when going out with friends, going Dutch is more like the rule. Furthermore, the Hindi/Urdu phrase "Apna Apna" more aptly translates to "Every man for himself". It is used in many more contexts than merely restaurant bills -- "Apne apne plate uthao", or "Each one pick up your plate".

158.130.102.125 (talk) 00:55, 1 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Addition to "Thai American Share"[edit]

Warning: This is anecdotal and has no citations.

In Thai society, American Share is more about splitting the bill equally than each paying for himself. We have no special term for paying for your own part of the event. 163.221.157.56 (talk) 14:15, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Removed category:anti-Dutch sentiment.[edit]

I removed this page from the category Category:Anti-Dutch sentiment. There is nothing nothing anti- about sharing and claiming so is POV. --Gerrit CUTEDH 00:36, 19 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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Asian section.[edit]

Major referencing is needed. Why haven't anyone referenced anything is beyond my imagination. This puts a high risk in creating biased, POV articles. Discussion is needed for this matter. SoloKnowHow83 (talk) 13:53, 18 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]