double Dutch

noun

Slang.

unintelligible or garbled speech or language.
She could have been talking double Dutch for all we understood of it.

Double Dutch

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

a form of the game of jump rope in which two persons, holding the respective ends of two long jump ropes, swing them in a synchronized fashion, usually directed inward so the ropes are going in opposite directions, for one or two others to jump over.

double Dutch

noun

informal��incomprehensible talk; gibberish

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Word History and Origins

Origin of double Dutch¹

First recorded in 1875–80

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Idioms and Phrases

Language that cannot be understood, gibberish, as in They might have been speaking double Dutch, for all I understood . This usage dates from the 1870s (an earlier version, however, had it as high Dutch ) and is heard less often today than the synonym double talk .

A game of jump rope in which players jump over two ropes swung in a crisscross fashion.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This past summer, we gathered in New Rochelle and did double Dutch lessons, clowning classes and Pilates.

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As a Black woman who grew up in New York City in the late ’90s and early aughts, double Dutch has always been near and dear to my heart.

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An interlude involving a boisterous park of people playing checkers, basketball and double Dutch lets him do just that.

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Double Dutch Divas, a local health and fitness nonprofit, is celebrating young double Dutch players and community wellness at its end-of-the-year jump rope event in Seattle’s NewHolly neighborhood.

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She thinks about the freeing feeling of riding a two-wheel bike for the first time and finally getting to play double Dutch jump rope after years of watching older kids make it look so magical.

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double-dumped double-duty

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