go dutch?

[mother]

Pple would you like to clear what is corresponding to he expression "to go dutch?" maybe to come to the netherland? thnk hardly

Thamks in advance

[Irisha]

Если не ошибаюсь, это свидание, на котором каждый платит сам за себя.

[Talgat]

mom, it means to pay for what everybody has ordered at a restaurant or other kinds of eateries. splitting the check is what most americans would say nowadays, going dutch is becoming quikcly archaic usage and the domain of the quircky types, like the british :-) tal

[Talgat]

irisha, accept my admiration again. but going dutch does not necessarily apply to dates only. any kind of social outing may be subject to going dutch should the parties to it so desrie. tal.

[Irisha]

Talgat, у меня же мозги так устроены: свидания, дискотеки, побрякушки, так что вот такое "зашоренное" мЫшление.

[Talgat]

do i detect a note of sarcasm in ur post? u shouldn't be. i do sincerely admire and respect u, irisha. hope i haven't fallen in ur eyes so low that every word out of me gets interepreted in the worst possible light. tal

[essie]

Share expenses equally and split the cost of something: "My boyfriend and I always go Dutch".
See http://www.wordreference.com/definition/go_Dutch

[Irisha]

Да нет, смайлик забыла поставить. Просто я знала только о таком узком смысле, а теперь буду знать, что это распространяется и на другие ситуации. Спасибо за науку.

[alexamel]

Yes, people still use this phrase a lot in the US, too.

[Talgat]

let's be fair, alexamel, it is not widely used in the good old us of a. i m not saying it is not understood by the yancks, of course it is, but splitting the bill is so much more common, the two r not even in the same weight category. i know it may appear like i m beating the dead horse here, but alexamel was one who dragged out the poor horsey again for slaughter in the first place. tal

[alexamel]

Talgat,

Can't be fairer - believe it or not - it IS widely used! Just a couple of days ago this very PHRASE was on the Wheel of Fortune on US prime time - GO DUTCH! (You know what the Wheel of Fortune is, of course). Besides, you hear it said right and left, on a pretty regular basis. So I don't know - what sources do you use? Yes, "splitting the bill" is less idiomatic hence more neutral and is fine, but is JUST AS fine, and I wouldn't take the liberty establishing usability comparisons between the two, let alone claim "it is not widely used in the...US".

[Talgat]

my basis? i lived there for a long time. and in all those years heard it used only twice or thrice. wheel of fortune is not a gauge of word popularity. by same tocken, as an example accessible to u, i wouldn't recommend making usage (i guess that is the word u meant, not usability? usability kinda sounds strange, is not linguistic, really) assumptions based on watching pole chudes. prime time viewing is no longer indicative of cultural nemes. u accuse me of making sweeping generalizations (claiming it is not widely used in the us), yet u commit the same sin by asserting that it is used left and right. i guess biblical parables were not part of ur school curriculum, otherwise u'd keep in mind the one about plucking the beam out of one own's eye before going after the mote in that of another. tal

[Talgat]

memes, of course, not nemes.

[alexamel]

Talgat,

With all due respect,

1. The Wheel of Fortune is of course not "a gauge of word popularity" as you put it, but what is? Google?!!! By using this example I meant that it's a very popular TV show for the masses, not-too-intellectual, mainstream, Main-Street, normal US viewers - so if "to go Dutch" is good enough for the authors and channel to air it nationwide on prime time, it's good enough for me. Really, if you tried asking your American friends as to their feeling about the commonality (and yes, usability!) of this phrase, what do you think they would say?

2. By the way, "usability" = from "usable" 1. capable of being used; 2. convenient and practicable for use. (courtesy of Mr. Webster). Another word you haven't heard? (Sorry, sorry)

3. You wrote: "u accuse me of making sweeping generalizations (claiming it is not widely used in the us), yet u commit the same sin by asserting that it is used left and right".

Okay, to say "right and left" - is just to say it's common, while you say "it is not widely used in the good old us of a." Sense the difference? Hence NOT THE SAME SIN.

4. No, I didn't study the Bible at school, you are quite right here!

5. I am sorry for what may be the perceived tone of my note. I don't really mean to hurt you in any way. I am in no positin to judge, but in my humble opinion, the vast majority of your suggestions on MT have been very clever, sophisticated and useful. And it is really up to both of us to try not to mislead our readers.

[Talgat]

i don't need to ask my american friends about word usage, since i have developed a good feeling for what makes good language sense that rivals that of native speakers. i know i sound very cocky saying that, but there is no use pretending i m something that i m not. just take my word for it, usability does not equal usage, and usage it is what most native speakers would use here. sorry for the reiterative language, but it couldn't be helped. just ask ur american friends about it. :-)

[alexamel]

There's really nothing left to discuss here, is there, talgat...