My daughter, Emma, and I have been watching "My So-Called Life" together, which has given us a lot of opportunities for some good conversation. This morning, as I was driving her to Harbor City for a high school visitation day, I asked her what was the dating practice among her friends, whether the guy usually paid or if they usually "went dutch."

Apparently she had never heard this term before and, in mock outrage, asked, "What is this 'going dutch?' Is this some ethnic slur against my ancestry?" When I explained that it meant that the cost of the date was split evenly between the couple, she retorted, "Oh, so you just assume that dutch people are fair? I'm incensed."

She then wondered aloud if "going dutch" involved the girl wearing a pointy hat and wooden shoes where she kept money for her half of the expenses.

I love my sarcastic teenage daughter.