Dutch courage

Boldness induced by drinking. The term alludes to the reputa- tion of the Dutch as heavy drinkers, which in the case of the whiskey-loving British is a case of the POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK. The idea dates back at least to the seventeenth century, when Edmund Waller wrote, “The Dutch their wine, and all their brandy lose, disarm’d of that from which their courage grows” (Instructions to a Painter, 1665). Sir Walter Scott used the term several times, but it may be dying out.