Pardon my French

Usage

One source suggests that the phrase "derives from a literal usage of the exclamation. In the 19th century, when English people used French expressions in conversation they often apologized for it—presumably because many of their listeners (then as now) wouldn't be familiar with the language." The definition cites an example from The Lady's Magazine, 1830:

"Excuse my French" appears in an 1895 edition of Harper's Weekly, where an American tourist, when asked about the architecture of Europe, says "Palaces be durned! Excuse my French." The phrase "pardon my French" is recorded in the 1930s and may be a result of English-speaking troops returning from the First World War.

The phrase has been used in broadcast television and family films, where less offensive words are preceded by "pardon my French" to intensify their effect without violating censorship or rating guidelines. An example is in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck) says, "Pardon my French, but you’re an asshole" on a phone call with Edward Rooney (Jeffrey Jones).

Related expressions

Several euphemisms exist in both English and French to ascribe culturally unacceptable or sensitive matters to another culture.

• "To take a French leave" (to depart a party or other gathering without taking polite leave of one's host) is referenced in French as filer à l'anglaise (lit. "leave English-style").
• "French letter" (now a somewhat archaic reference to a condom) is rendered in French as capote anglaise ("English hood" or "English cap").
• In 16th-century England, genital herpes was called the "French disease" and "French-sick" was a term for syphilis; while in contemporary France, it was called le Mal de Naples (the Neapolitan disease) after the syphilis outbreak in 1494/1495, when French troops were besieging Naples (see history of syphilis).
• "French kiss" (A kiss with tongue-to-tongue interaction is referred to in French as un baiser or une pelle (a colloquialism which literally means "a shovel").

Notes

References

References

1. Frances White, [https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/why-do-we-say-excuse-my-french/ Why do we say "Excuse my French"?] on ''historyanswers.co.uk'', 11 March 2015
2. [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/130800.html Phrases.org.uk: "Excuse my French"]
3. (1895). "Harper's New Monthly Magazine". Harper & Brothers.
4. (7 August 2008). "Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases". Penguin Adult.
5. Melissa, [http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/10/tradition-saying-pardon-french-saying-swear-words-started/ How the Tradition of Saying "Pardon My French" After Saying Swear Words Started], on ''todayifoundout.com'', October 8, 2013
6. Geraldine Jones, [http://www.everywordcounts.co.uk/popular-european-sayings/ "Excuse my French!" and other popular European sayings], on ''everywordcounts.co.uk'', May 14, 2016
7. Matt Soniak, [http://mentalfloss.com/article/12866/why-do-we-say-%E2%80%9Cpardon-my-french%E2%80%9D-when-we-curse Why Do We Say "Pardon My French" When We Curse?], on ''mentalfloss.com'', October 26, 2012
8. [https://www.thelocal.fr/20160819/french-things-that-arent-actually-french Twelve 'French' things that aren't actually French at all], on ''thelocal.fr'', 19 August 2016