D and I just had an argument over this phrase, and she was right: "Bleu apparently means “blue”, but I always thought it was an expletive - “By the scared blood of Jesus!”
Guess I was wrong, huh?
Okay on my way to the den to take my licks.;)
Thanks
Quasi
Thank you, Fish Cheer, and great nick, BTW! Makes me all nostalgic!!! 
Quasi
Sacré bleu !
You can get away with Sacre Bleu most of the time, but steer clear of “Tabernac” in Quebec.
My treat. I’m glad you like it.
I’ve never been to Québec, but judging from this movie I saw on a plane a while ago, that’s all they ever say.
Wow. Shows how a folk etymology can prop up some unfounded confidence.
I had always been certain “Sacré bleu” best corresponded with the English “my heavens!” I thought bleu (blue) stood in for “sky” (as in the wild blue yonder of the USAF song). So, to my reasoning, “Sacred Blue” = “Heaven”.
My confidence in this interpretation was strengthened by the knowledge that French (as well as some other languages) uses the same word for both “sky” and “heaven” (“ciel”).
I had always thought of it as mild, polite company, interjection or exclamation. I had never thought of it as a heavy expletive or swear word.
Ignorance fought. Thanks.
I might be wrong, but I doubt it had anything to do with Mary, regardless of what wikipedia says.
If you look at old French curse words, you’ll notice a lot of “bleu” : morBLEU, ventreBLEU, sacreBLEU, etc…
In fact, “bleu”, here doesn’t refer to the colour but is an euphemism for “dieu” (god). So, “sacrebleu!” most correct translation would be something like “Holy gosh!”
(And in the case of ventrebleu, whose actual hidden meaning would be “by God’s belly”, I always suspected that “ventre” (belly) was itself an euphemism for a more private part of god’s anatomy.)
Zut alors!
But that’s exactly what the wikipedia article says:
Wait; if the old French were repeating Martian oaths, doesn’t that lend credence to von Daniken’s theories about –
Oh, wait. Never mind.
If you’re in a situation where swearing is appropriate/expected/gonna happen anyways, saying tabarnak is as good a swear as any in Québec. Also - or along with - ostie calîsse de crisse de ciboire de sacrament…
Religious-based swear words are more common than scatological or sexual ones, here. There is no more reason to avoid the first set than there are the others. You won’t generally find these words quoted in the newspaper, but you won’t find “fuck” in English-language papers either (though “fuck” isn’t really considered profane in French).
Saying “sacré bleu” or “zut alors!” in Québec will get you an odd look, not because it isn’t understood, but because it’s France French, and just not really used here all that much.
Fun fact: in an attempt to “reclaim” the language, the Catholic church in Québec (Montreal’s archdiocese) had an ad campaign with signs giving the proper definition of the words in French, of course. It generated some amusement and more world-wide understanding of Québec profanity, but I’m not sure it accomplished the intended goal. Here’s the first non-pay-per-view articleI found about it.
Getting somewhat off topic here - Florence Foresti, a popularish French comic is on tour right now with her new show titled “Mother-fucker”.
So here in Paris we have posters tastefully proclaiming “motherfucker” in the street, frosted blonde newsreaders discussing “motherfucker” on tv at peak viewing times etc
I think I’m the only person who’s even found this to be noteworthy.
Motherfucker (not sure if it’s safe for work - but it’s safe enough for display in the streets of Paris)
This is also my understanding. They’re minced oaths: “morbleu”, for example, would be a deformation of “mort à Dieu” (“death to God”) to make it less recognizable.
Compare with the old Quebec swear words “torrieux” and “torriâble”, which I understand literally mean “tort à Dieu” and “tort au diable” (“harm to God” and “harm to the Devil”, respectively).
In the Middle Ages, people swore a lot. Not they way we think of swearing, although they did their share of cussing as well.
These days, it seems only thieves and druggies who are trying to convince the cops they are fine, upstanding citizens and start babbling, “I swear,” or when they are REALLY desperate, “I swear on my mother’s life!”
Back in dem olden days, God had a much bigger role in everyday life. And to convince people of their truthfulness, or their honesty, THEY would swear. To make the oath even more impressive, they’d tack on “By the Blood of God,” “By the Wounds of God.” Folks figured when you started talking like that, you HAD to be telling the truth, or God would send down lightning bolts and fry you on the spot.
People also discovered that when they DIDN’T get hit by lightning, they could spice up their profanity by putting similar phrases. “God’s wounds,” “God’s blood,” and the ever-creative “God’s toenails.”
Sometimes you’ll hear an old-fashioned expletive, “Zounds!” That is actually a contraction of “God’s wounds.” British people like to get all heated up and start talking about “bloody this,” and “bloody that.” Americans think those phrases are rather hilarious, if not messy. But the British “bloody” is derived from the oath-making “God’s blood,” and using it casually is borderline blasphemy.
“Sacre bleu” falls into the same category. It’s similar to today’s phrase, “Oh my God!” People in the United States have gotten too informal about swearing. These phrases, like the really vulgar or excretory ones used today, were considered to be rude when used in polite company.
~VOW
Clairobscur has it right. And it’s sacrebleu, not sacré bleu.
Nomdebleu! as we say here for nomdedieu.
I suppose it’s somewhat analogous to telling someone to “naff off” in Baltimore or Pittsburgh - it makes you sound British.
But notice that while Quebec is famous for religiously-derived swear words, they are also commonly found among other French speakers, and speakers of other languages as well. That’s what sacrebleu and sapristi and the like are, after all.
Zut, I don’t know the origin of.
If you’re not a time traveller, you unlikely to hear “sacrebleu” in France, either. It hasn’t been in use for, I’d guess, some centuries. Typically, you’d hear it while watching a “three musketeers” style movie.