Dutch courage

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Dutch courage … John le Carré's Toby Bell takes to a cafe to prepare himself to steal an illicit recording back from his employer.

From The Guardian • Apr. 12, 2013

This rock was afterwards known as rock Donner or Donnerock, and will stand forever an imperishable monument commemorative of "Dutch courage."

From Jack in the Forecastle or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser Martingale by Sleeper, John Sherburne

"Dutch courage is cheap enough, Mister Slyne," said the old man tauntingly.

From The White Blackbird by Douglas, Hudson

Running gives Dutch courage, so we dropped from our wall, and we, too, began running—towards the deserters.

From Indiscreet Letters From Peking Being the Notes of an Eye-Witness, Which Set Forth in Some Detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900—The Year of Great Tribulation by Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)

His Royal Highness was on foot, and was seen standing facing the enemy, with outstretched legs, like a Colossus of Rhodes, impassive and stolid,—the very impersonification of Dutch courage and aggressiveness.

From History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present Moral and Physical Reasons for its Performance by Remondino, Peter Charles