Pardon My French

Daniel from Traverse City asked about the use of, “Forgive/Pardon my French.” Today, it is usually uttered to soften the use of profanity by transparently and facetiously pretending that it is a foreign utterance. 

Why French? Well, ever since 1066 and the Norman Invasion, the British have harbored enmity toward the French, and this has been displayed in various idioms, many of them formulated in the 19^th century as the result of revulsion to the Napoleonic Wars waged by the French. Thus, we have

·      French leave: an unauthorized absence or departure

·      French letter: a condom

·      French novel: pornography

·      French pox: syphilis

In retaliation, the French would refer to English flight, an English cap, the English vice, and the English malady.

It is possible that the original use of the phrase was a type of apology for actually using a French word or phrase in English conversation. We find an example in The Twelve Nights, by Baron Karl von Miltie, 1831:

“Bless me, how fat you are grown! — absolutely as round as a ball: — you will soon be as embonpoint (excuse my French) as your poor dear father, the major.”

Available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts Dictionary, 2nd edition

Nook edition

Kindle edition

Check out Mike's other books here:
 Amazon.com

Listen to Mike’s program in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by going to wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen Now. You’ll also find about a month’s worth of podcasts there under The Ron Jolly Show.

Visit The Senior Corner, a web site containing information for senior citizens.