When someone swears and then feels bad about it they say this. Just wondering if anyone knows how it came about....anyone?
2007-09-14 08:03:37 · 5 answers · asked by Next evolutionary step... 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
There has been a long tradition of enmity between England and France and the sentence was, and still is, a euphemism to hide a crude or vulgar English expression, everything "bad " supposedly originating from France.
There is also the possibility that since "Pardon" is a French word, the logical word association was "my French" rather than "my English". An innocuous theory is that when the English were looking around for a foreign language to put into the phrase "pardon my ...", the closest one and obvious choice was neighbouring French. Additionally, French was for a long time the most-spoken foreign language in the United Kingdom. However, some people believe the expression may have come from 1950s intellectuals who were well-versed in French at the time. In the fifties, cursing was considered to be a major taboo, so the speaker would actually curse in French to be more polite. In these instances, "Pardon my French" would refer to actual French.
2007-09-14 11:07:34 · answer #1 · answered by WISE OWL 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pardon My French Origin
2016-12-11 12:53:56 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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Where does the phrase "Pardon my French" come from.?
When someone swears and then feels bad about it they say this. Just wondering if anyone...
Asked by Joe - 23 minutes ago - Languages - 1 Answer - Open Questions
Pardon my French?
Who can make a sentence in this word,” Pardon my French.” for me? Because I am not real... Here's a sentence for you: Holy ****,oh oops, pardon my French. Basically, you say it if you curse and didn't mean to.
Asked by Eiffel Tower - 6 months ago - Languages - 6 Answers - Resolved Questions
Why we say "pardon my French" when we say bad word?
... in a conversation I hear people say "pardon my French but”.... were did that ... anyone said anything sexual or a curse word, they would say 'pardon my French."
Asked by hellomoto072 - 4 months ago - Languages - 11 Answers - Resolved Questions
where does the expression pardon my french, after cursing come from??
we say that after we curse, pardon my french. why??? an "apology" for swearing. "Excuse my French" or "Pardon my French" isn't just play-acting that...
Asked by vluv4u2000 - 2 months ago - Words & Wordplay - 5 Answers - Resolved Questions
Do you know why we say PARDON MY FRENCH when we swear in English?
I'm French and I know why, but I just wonder how many people don't know the reason. If no... an "apology" for swearing. "Excuse my French" or "Pardon my French" isn't just play-acting that...
Asked by Rose - 2 months ago - Polls & Surveys - 10 Answers - Resolved Questions
Does anyone know where the phrase "pardon my French" comes from?
Where/when did this start? Did it mean that the French are rude and insulting? ... Pardon my French is something that...just used the French word, pronounced...
Asked by batfly - 4 months ago - Other - Society & Culture - 4 Answers - Resolved Questions
I meant 'a lot' not 'beautiful bum'. Pardon my French!?
...pronunciation of beaucoup? I can only make it sound like beau cul - beautiful bum in French. Oh dear. ... Alright, my boyfriend, who's Scottish still has the same problem than you have. It's quite cute really so don't worry! Think...
Asked by Jack - 11 months ago - Franche - Comte - 6 Answers - Resolved Questions
Can Anyone out there tell me the origin of the expression "Pardon my French" ?
... we saying that "somethng" French is naughty,dirty, what? Today at work the... This phrase, in which French refers to... that the term French is ...
Asked by Smiffy - 4 weeks ago - Languages - 5 Answers - Resolved Questions
2007-09-14 08:27:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
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RE:
Where does the phrase "Pardon my French" come from.?
When someone swears and then feels bad about it they say this. Just wondering if anyone knows how it came about....anyone?
2015-08-18 18:29:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excuse My French
2016-10-18 22:43:59 · answer #5 · answered by krejsa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So then, I must ask, what do they say in England? Pardon my French? And do they say this at all in France, but instead substitute and say, Pardon my English?
2014-11-16 15:08:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://books.google.com/books?id=N5FdEcKfhAIC&pg=PA514&lpg=PA514&dq=origin+pardon+my+french&source=web&ots=xGk2LQp7kC&sig=83FXlcGfttEUyxDlKyCitrRL6iI
2007-09-14 08:10:22 · answer #7 · answered by American Spirit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋