Is there anything that "French Fries" and "French Kissing" have to do with France?

Answer 1

I don't associate eithef of those with france.

french fries seems really american because we eat so many of them!

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries#Culinar_origin_of_the_term

According to Wikipedia, it is unclear exactly what the "French" in french fries stands for. It may mean fried in the french manner which is deep frying or the cut of the fries themselves. It looks like it was a common dish in Europe because no one can pin it down to a specific location (although Belgium is a common choice)

As for French kiss, though I didn't find anything in the wiki article, I believe that it was termed such as a sort of British slur against the French. Ironically perhaps, in India it is called an English kiss since it was only shown in British movies, never in local ones.

Answer 3

Dear Xinnybuxlrie,

As far as I know, these two terms have no actual connection to France. French fries in Europe are widely thought of as coming from Belgium, where French fries are served with a great array of different dishes. The French do not refer to fries as being French, whereas in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium (and the Netherlands) they are sometimes duly called "Vlaamse frites", or Flemish fries.

The term "French fries" came about through American soldiers during World War I, who were apparently quite fond of it. Since they associated it with France, they called it French fries, although the soldiers were actually in Belgium at the time. The fact that they were in the French-speaking part of Belgium might have caused them to mistakenly think they were in France, hence the name.

The so-called French kiss is, as far as I know, a Roman invention. Originally, believe it or not, it was a conscious imitation of the behaviour of ants, specifically the practice of trophallaxis. Ants are great communicators, and two ants may sometimes exchange pheromones mixed in with partially chewed food, which provide information about their state of health and nutrition. The Romans intuited that this behaviour was a sign of care and affection (which in a very real sense, it is) and adopted it amongst themselves.

Why it was ultimately attributed to the French is not clear. It may have been a derogatory distortion by the British under Victorian rule. The French (like many other Europeans) have a habit of kissing lightly on the cheeks to greet close friends or relatives, both male and female. To the prude Britons of the Victorian era, this may have been interpreted as a sign of shocking moral depravation, and carelessly extended to include "proper" French kissing as well.

In general, the long rivalry between France and Britain (close to a thousand years!) has given rise to many amusing derogatory expressions which each attribute to the other. Whereas in Britain a condom is sometimes referred to as "French letters", in France it is known as an "English hood". While in Britain, sneaking out of something is called taking "French leave", in France it is known as taking English leave. In France also, an old-fashioned euphemism used by women among themselves to refer to their menstrual cycle was "to have one's English" - in reference to the red coats worn in the old days by the British army!

Hope this helped,