# "Pardon my French"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 2, 2002, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919 "2002-05-02T19:54:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![elfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/258eb7/32.png) [@elfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfin)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919/1 "2002-05-02T19:54:37Z")

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Where does the expression “Pardon my French” originate from? Why French?  
A few weeks ago, I learned that the French word for “seal” (the marine animal, that is) is “phoque”. My brother tells me the similarity in pronunciation between this word and the English profanity gave rise to the previously mentioned expression. I’m somewhat doubtful… How many anglophones know the French word for seal?

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**Author:** ![Zoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6de8d8/32.png) [@Zoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoff)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919/2 "2002-05-02T20:49:09Z")

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I’ve always assumed it was said for the irony. The French language is considered a sign of sophistication and refinement. Saying “pardon my French” after uttering an obscenity is sort of a way of making fun of oneself for using language that is considered to be on the other end of the spectrum from sophisticated and refined.

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919/3 "2002-05-02T20:54:18Z")

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Huh. I always figured just the opposite: the French were considered exotic and erotic and uninhibited by English speakers ('specially Americans who went over to Europe during the wars. Any definitive answer?

Daniel

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919/4 "2002-05-02T21:11:15Z")

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okay, [here’s a website](http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorf.htm) that has an explanation similar to mine; take it for what it’s worth. Here’s what they say:

> [@](#):
>
> French Kiss  
> A French kiss is an open-mouthed kiss in which the tongue of one partner is manipulated by the tongue of the other. But what makes this French?  
> The specific origin is unknown. It dates from at least the 1920s.
> 
> It is, however, certainly derived from the idea that the French people are sexually liberated or even promiscuous. Similar phrases include, “pardon my French,” the French way (i.e., oral sex), French postcards (pornographic pictures), French pox (syphilis; ironically in France it is sometimes called the “English disease”), and French letter (a condom).

Daniel

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**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919/5 "2002-05-02T21:18:12Z")

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and [this site](http://www.takeourword.com/Issue058.html) gives a similar explanation.

Daniel

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**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pardon-my-french/106919/6 "2002-05-02T22:21:41Z")

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[More discussion of this question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84206), reaching a similar conclusion.