Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Hard to research this one, because "in dutch" can be part of a sent4ence about getting paid in gilders, or documents printed in the dutch dialect.

There are a lot of hits in the early 17th century.  In 1625, there were virtually no hits, then up to 2X current levels in 1628, 3X in 1635, and then it sagged back down.  Only thing I can see is that in 1628, the Dutch were fighting the Spanish in Matanzas and Batavia, and not necessarily anything to do with getting or being in dutch.

There is an ugly stereotype of the dutch that says they are dishonest traders, and that they don't view that as unethical, but rather skillful trading.  In the 1990s, I dealt with some businessmen from Eindhoven, and ended up walking away from what should have been a highly profitable deal, because I didn't want to fight to get paid once I'd done the work.  

If a kid is jabbering away in a language only he understands, he's little dutchy.  If a man performs an act of what looks bravery, but is actually drunbken disregard, that's dutch courage.  If you're invited to share an evening with someone, and it's at your expense, that's dutch treat. If your payments are in dutch gilders, you may not get paid at all.  If a contract is written in Dutch, you aren't going to get a court to rule in your favor.  And an honest businessman is dealing with the dutch, it's with extreme reluctance.

So if you are "in dutch", you've shown yourself to be dishonorable and untrustworthy.  New York, as you may recall, was once "New Amsterdam", and the dutch culture seems to have survived in the Great Recession caused by the illegal dealings of New York "banksters", and the racist rantings of the city's most flamboyant real estate wheeler-dealer.

Stereotypes can be ugly, and I don't like them in my brain, but any printer will tell you, they are often quite useful.