Dutch treat

noun

Sometimes Offensive.

1. a meal or entertainment for which each person pays their own expenses.

Dutch treat

noun

1. informal,  an entertainment, meal, etc, where each person pays for himself

Dutch treat

1. An outing or date on which each person pays his or her own way. To “go Dutch” is to go on such a date.

Sensitive Note

A Dutch treat is not a treat at all. Because Dutch is used here to negate the concept of a generous treat, the term is sometimes perceived as insulting. See also Dutch.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dutch treat¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Idioms and Phrases

An outing or date in which each person pays his or her own expenses. For example, Her parents agreed that she might date if it were a Dutch treat. The related expression go Dutch means “to go on a date with each person paying their own way,” as in Students often elect to go Dutch. The first term dates from about 1870, and the variant from the early 1900s.