double Dutch

¹

noun

, Slang.

1. unintelligible or garbled speech or language:

   She could have been talking double Dutch for all we understood of it.

Double Dutch

²

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)

1. 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

1. informal.
   incomprehensible talk; gibberish

Word History and Origins

Origin of double Dutch¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The paper was covered with lines, circles, and writing that appeared to us like "double-Dutch."

From Project Gutenberg

A double Dutch Agency circulates a report of a great patriotic concert recently held in Berlin.

From Project Gutenberg

He says the document is in Hebrew, and he has translated it into Double Dutch.

From Project Gutenberg

When the rope is turned inwards, it is called “double dutch,” when turned outwards, “French dutch.”

From Project Gutenberg