Introduction
There's a considerable
amount of Dutch references in English and for such a small nation that's quite
an achievement. What's the reason of it? Gary Martin, the author of the website
http://www.phrases.org.uk, proposes two
explanations. Looking at the map you can see that the distance (or to be more
specific lack of it) between these two nations is one of them.
But that wouldn't be
enough, would it? There has to be another reason, and it's two nations’ inclination
towards sailing. Both Great Britain and the Netherlands are famous for their
maritime traditions, and having a large fleet means frequent opportunities for
contact in the field of trade and war.
