Karin Schneebeli writes:
> Does any body have any ideas about the origin of the term "Dutchman"
> for stone repair?

The OED says: 1874, Knight Dictionary of Mechanics, playful name for a block
or wedge of wood driven into a gap to hide the fault in a badly made joint.

I presume the material, stone or wood, makes little difference in this
context. I have always been careful to not use  the term when working with
carpenters or customers from Holland, as my father once cautioned me that
the term was known in his early days (say 1910 to 1940) as a derogatory
slight toward the Dutch who were thought by some to habitually make faulty
joints or do other poor work that needed a "Dutchman" repair. Last year I
worked for a Dutch client who had brought a Swiss carpenter onto the project
who had done a lot of work in Holland. This term happened to come up in
discussion. Both knew of the term and its negative connotation, but though
that was from past times and that today they would not feel offended by it.

John
by pen and thought best words are wrought


John Leeke, Preservation Consultant

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