die dummen Schweden

== Swedish == === Alternative forms === Die dummen Schweden === Etymology === Pseudo-Germanism, derived from die (“the”) +‎ dummen (“dumb, stupid”) +‎ Schweden (“Swedes”). Debated origin: Possibly from the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) when Swedish soldiers from the countryside were accommodated in German cities, and were there easy targets for local tricksters, fraudsters and swindlers. Possibly derived from Hungarian buta svábok (“dumb Swabian”), in German die dummen Schwaben (“the dumb Swabians”), about a German-speaking minority living in southern Hungary from the 18th century to 20th century, who allegedly had limited proficiency in the local language. Later distorted in Swedish to die dummen Schweden. Cognate with Danish die Dummen Dänen (literally “the dumb Danes”). === Phrase === die dummen Schweden An alleged German idiom that portray Swedes as gullible or naive. === See also === German: alter Schwede (“old chap”, literally “old Swede”) === References ===