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.

See also: excuse, french

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

excuse (or pardon) my French

used to apologize for swearing. informal

French 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.

See also: excuse, 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.

See also: excuse, french, pardon

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

Excuse my French

verb

See Pardon my French

See also: excuse, 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.

See also: excuse, french

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer