Excuse my French

Posted by ESC on April 27, 2005

In Reply to: Excuse my French posted by Dan Halyard on April 27, 2005

: When and where did the phrase "Excuse my French" originate?

"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).

• Excuse my French Smokey Stover 27/April/05
  • Excuse my French Victoria S Dennis 27/April/05
    • Excuse my French ESC 27/April/05
      • Excuse my French Smokey Stover 28/April/05
        • Excuse my French Bruce Taylor 10/May/05