"Dutch" expressions heard in American English were first used in prefix = st1 /Englandin the 17thcentury. That was a time of fierce competition betweenEnglandandHolland. At that time, the British used "Dutch" as a word for something bad, or false.    A Dutch agreement was one made between men who had drunk too much alcohol. Dutch leave was what a soldier took when he left his base without permission.    Some of these old expressions are still used today with a little different meaning. Long ago, a Dutch treat was a dinner at which the invited guests were expected to pay for their own share of food and drink. Now, Dutch treat means that when friends go out to have fun, each person pays his own share.     Another common expression heard a few years ago was "In Dutch". If someone told you that you were in Dutch, they mean that you were in trouble.    Some of the Dutch expressions heard in American English have nothing to do with the Dutch people at all. In the seventeen hundreds, Germans who moved to theUnited Statesoften were called Dutch. During the American Civil War, supporters of the northern side in the central state ofMissouriwere called Dutch, because many of them were German settlers. President Theodore Roosevelt once noted that anything foreign and non-English was called Dutch. What's the passage mainly about?
Telling us that"Dutch" is not a good  word. Showing that "Dutch" means differently between the British and the American. Telling us there was fierce competition between EnglandandHolland. Helping us enlarge the knowledge about the word "Dutch".