Meanings
- pluralplural onlyA plant of the species Dicentra cucullaria, native to eastern North America and the Columbia River basin.
Synonyms: breeches-flower, boys and girls, girls and boys, Indian boys and girls
- pluralplural onlyA plant of the species Lamprocapnos spectabilis, formerly Dicentra spectabilis, similar to D. cucullaria, but red or pink.
- colloquialpluralplural onlySomething proverbially blue, used in phrases relating to a clear blue sky, as in "enough blue sky to make [or patch] a Dutchman's breeches", etc.
Synonyms: Dutchman's trousers
- pluralplural onlyUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Dutchman, -'s, breeches.
A Dutchman's breeches, in full taste, / Two contrasted extremes divide; / Buttons, like platters, at the waist, / And studs, like peas, along the side.
1796, Samuel Bishop, “Epigram II. Plus, Minus.”, in The Poetical Works of the Rev. Samuel Bishop, A.M., volume 2, →OCLC, page 1632 more examples
We have all heard it said of the Dutchman's breeches that they could be made to contain whatever objects could be forced through the pocket apertures, and the number of things that the Dutchman could stow away in the baggy recesses of his nether garments has always been a source of wonder to the foreigner.
1915, Harold Donaldson Eberlein, The Architecture of Colonial America (Library of American civilization), →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 14Up went the jib and then the mainsail. Being home-made, they hung baggy as a Dutchman's breeches, but when I cast off the mooring lines the breeze blew out the wrinkles and everything was fine.
1950 October, MotorBoating, →ISSN, page 21
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA plant of the species Dicentra cucullaria, native to eastern North America and the Columbia River basin.
nounSomething proverbially blue, used in phrases relating to a clear blue sky, as in "enough blue sky to make [or patch] a Dutchman's breeches", etc.
More synonyms by meaning
noundelicate spring-flowering plant of the eastern United States having white flowers with double spurs
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
In the case of the plants, named because their flower petals resemble baggy pants worn by Dutch settlers to North America (compare slops, knickerbockers).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch gebroken hartjes
- gebroken hartjesDicentra cucullaria
French dicentre à capuchon
- dicentre à capuchonDicentra cucullaria
German Kapuzen-Herzblume
- Kapuzen-HerzblumeDicentra cucullaria
Swedish sjömanshjärta
- sjömanshjärtaDicentra cucullaria
Welsh clôs pen-glin
- clôs pen-glinDicentra cucullaria
Cite this entry
Dutchman's breeches. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dutchman's%20breeches
“Dutchman's breeches.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dutchman's%20breeches. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Dutchman's breeches,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dutchman's%20breeches.
Source: Dutchman's breeches on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.