LOL, English is just full of compliments for others.
For some reason, the Dutch fare very badly: Dutch courage, Dutch treat, Dutch uncle... we've fought them a few times, naturally, but then we've fought most of Europe at one time or another <g>. Generally they've been close allies of ours and we've even had a Dutch king (William III - the wise chappie who sent so many Puritan Orangemen to settle Ulster...).
As for the Welsh, LOL, oldest rivals of the Saxons... fighting England since before it was England.
They used to be commonly called Taffs - from a corruption of David/Daffyd, very common name and patron saint; Cymric accents don't voice the D so strongly, so it has a softer, 'T' sound. A Welshman would often be called Taffy, hence this lovely popular ditty:
Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief.
Taffy broke into the shop and stole a side of beef.
You still see Taff or Taffy now as a nickname, but the connotations are mostly forgotten, fortunately...
Note - one of my grandfathers was Welsh, middle name David (and surname Evans, that's as Welsh as it gets) so I'm allowed to say this <g>.
Meanwhile, how do you account for 'frenching'? <g> |
