Re: Remember
Agincourt
Posted by Word Camel on February
23, 2002 In Reply to: Re: Remember Agincourt
posted by The Fallen on February 23, 2002
: : : : For "Excuse
my French", Phrase Finder gives the definition as the origin. Has anyone an idea
of the actual origin?
: : : : Meaning
: : : : Please forgive my swearing.
: : : :
: : : : Origin
: : : : A coy phrase where someone who has used
a swearword attempts to pass it off as french.
: : : : Thanks
: : : : m.
:
: : I think this goes back to an age-old rivalry between France and the UK.
:
: : In the UK, anything considered a bit risque or off-color was considered to
be of French origin.
: : : For instance: "French kiss" "French tickler" etc.
:
: : So if someone used a swear word then they would attribute that word to the
French as in "Excuse my French, but what the f**k happened to that report I was
supposed to have this morning??".
: : : Can anybody east of NY confirm this?
:
: "FRENCH - The prejudice that anything French is wicked, sexual, and decadent
has let Frenchmen in for more than their fair share of abuse in English. Many
such expressions date back to 1730-1820, the height of Anglo-French enmity, but
some are current and others go back even further." From the "Encyclopedia of Word
and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Fact on File, New York, 1997).
:
The French are of course a nation for which there is no excuse. Having said that,
there are a few examples of presumed decadence in reverse. Old-fashioned English
slang for a condom is "a French letter". Similarly, outmoded French slang for
the same thing is "un capot anglais" (literally, an English cap").
Is "excuse
my French" used in the UK? I don't recall it. In general the Brits seem much more
relaxed about swearing in general. I don't ever remember anyone using the euphamisms
of 'dang', heck, etc. Though I have seen people terribly offended by the word
'bloody' - which always struck me as odd. Is this the case, Oh British friends?
Or are my glassed growing a rose tint with time?
As an aside, and because I
am a compulsive story-teller, I have to relate the oddest use of a euphamism for
swearing I've come across. In highschool, there was a very large girl - think
6'3 - from somewhere down South. As if to make up for her stature, she was ultra
feminine, dressing in copious layers of pink chiffon. She never swore openly but
gritted her teeth and exclaimed "Well Sugar, Honey, Ice, Tea!"
- Re:
Pardon my French R. Berg 02/23/02 ( 3)
|