excuse my French
(redirected from excuse my French!)excuse my French
Excuse my inappropriate language. Usually used humorously, especially around children, as if to suggest that an inappropriate word was in fact a word from a different language. A: "John, don't use language like that in front of the kids." B: "Oops, excuse my French, everyone!" Excuse my French, but this tasted like shit.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
excuse (or pardon) my French
used to apologize for swearing. informalFrench has been used since the late 19th century as a euphemism for bad language.
1992 Angela Lambert A Rather English Marriage A loony can change a bloody toilet-roll, pardon my French.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
exˌcuse/ˌpardon my ˈFrench
(informal, humorous) used for saying you are sorry when you have used or are going to use rude or offensive language: Ouch, bloody hell! Oops, excuse my French! ♢ If you’ll pardon my French, he’s a bloody fool.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
Excuse my French
verbSee Pardon my French
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
excuse my French
See pardon my French.
pardon/excuse my French
Please excuse the strong language. Exactly why French should mean “bad language” is not known, but this usage dates from the late 1800s. Eric Partridge speculated that the phrase was picked up by British soldiers in France during World War I and was first recorded during this period. However, given that language such as the F-word has become commonplace in popular entertainment and public life, this cliché is probably obsolescent, if not obsolete. Also see swear like a trooper; you should excuse the expression.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer