Pardon my French
"Pardon my French" or "excuse my French" is an English expression that commonly precedes the usage of profanity in a sentence. It is intended to ascribe profane words as a natural component of the French language rather than of the English language, playing on the stereotype of Gallic sophistication, although it can be used ironically.
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 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 says, "Pardon my French, but you’re an asshole" on a phone call with Edward Rooney.
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" is referenced in French as filer à l'anglaise.
- "French letter" is rendered in French as capote anglaise.
- 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 after the syphilis outbreak in 1494/1495, when French troops were besieging Naples.
- "French kiss".