English · Idiom Attested

Dutch courage

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Bravery induced by drinking alcohol.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Sự can đảm được kích thích bởi việc uống rượu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

It gives one Dutch (why Dutch?) courage and the edge is taken off the senses and one says: " Who cares? " or " I can take it. "

For instance, when Oliver Reed made his now famous appearance with slightly more than a little Dutch courage inside him, he suddenly took it into his head that he wanted to sing.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

false courage, generally excited by drink—pot-valour.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

sự can đảm giả, thường do uống rượu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “Dutch courage” mean?

Bravery induced by drinking alcohol.

Is “Dutch courage” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.