Dutch uncle
1
8.8
- noun
- /dʌtʃ ˈʌŋkl/
- Informal
:
tío neerlandés
- Like a Dutch uncle.
Examples
-
I'm your Dutch uncle from now on, pal.
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If I hadn't talked like a Dutch uncle, we probably would have.
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My friend always gives me advice like a Dutch uncle, even when I don’t want to hear it.
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As a Dutch uncle, she didn't sugarcoat her advice, telling me exactly what I needed to improve.
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The mentor acted as a Dutch uncle, offering blunt criticism that ultimately helped me succeed.
How Blunt
Surface Forms
Morphology
Dutch + uncle
The meaning 'a person who gives blunt, stern advice' is not transparently built from 'Dutch' (a nationality) and 'uncle' (a familial figure), since neither constituent signals stern criticism. This is a culture-specific idiom with a historical/figurative origin, so a B1 learner who only knows the two words would unlikely predict the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Dutch uncle may come from an old British idea that, unlike a kind uncle, a Dutch uncle was strict and spoke plainly. That's why the phrase means 'a person who gives blunt, stern advice'.