Re: Pardon
my French
Posted by James
Briggs on February 23, 2002 In Reply to: Re:
Pardon my French posted by R. Berg 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 euphemism for swearing
I've come across. In high school, 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!"
: I had thought that
"Excuse my French" or "Pardon my French" was euphemistic, like calling the toilet
a throne. In the U.S., the French language and culture have an aura of superiority.
Whatever is French is thought to be classier than what we've got. Vulgar speech
is less cultivated than standard English. French is more cultivated than standard
English. So if you start with vulgar speech and rotate a full 180 degrees, standard
English being at the center, you arrive at French, which is in that sense the
opposite of swearing.
The phrase is well known in Britain - in fact it was
the title of a West End comedy some years ago.
'French leave' is also a common
expression for taking leave without consent. In France it's known as 'English
leave'. Sadly, I can't recall the exact French phrase.
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