"Pardon my French" or "Excuse my French" is a common

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

phrase for asking for excuse for one's

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

by the humorous assertion that the swear words were from the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. It plays on the stereotype of Gallic sophistication, but can be used ironically.

Usage

At least one source suggests that the phrase "derives from a literal usage of the exclamation. In the 19th century, when English people used French expressions in conversation they often apologized for it – presumably because many of their listeners (then as now) wouldn't be familiar with the language". The definition cites an example from ''

The Lady's Magazine image:Fashion Plate (London Fashionable Walking Dresses) LACMA M.86.266.104.jpg, 1795–1820 in Western fashion#Women's fashion, London Regency-fashionable Walking Dresseses, often referred to as Promenade Dresses, July 1812, including a Spencer ...

'', 1830: "Excuse my French" appears an 1895 edition of ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'', where an American tourist asked about the architecture of Europe says "Palaces be durned! Excuse my French." The phrase "pardon my French" is recorded in the 1930s and may be a result of English-speaking troops returning from the First World War. The phrase has been used in

broadcast television Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals. Analog television systems were standardized ...

and family films where less offensive words are preceded by "pardon my French" to intensify their effect without violating

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

or rating guidelines. An example is in the movie ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...

''; Cameron Frye says, "Pardon my French, but you’re an asshole" on a phone call with Edward Rooney.

Related expressions

Several

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

s exist in both English and French which ascribe culturally unacceptable or sensitive matters to another culture. * " to take a French leave" (to depart a party or other gathering without taking polite leave of one's host) is referenced in French as ''filer à l'anglaise'' (lit. "leave English-style"). * "French letter" (a now somewhat archaic reference to a

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

) is rendered in French as ''capote anglaise'' ("English hood" or "English cap").Twelve 'French' things that aren't actually French at all
on ''thelocal.fr'', 19 August 2016 * During the 16th century in England,

genital herpes Genital herpes is a herpes infection of the genitals caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Most people either have no or mild symptoms and thus do not know they are infected. When symptoms do occur, they typically include small blisters ...

was called the "French disease" and "French-sick" was a term for

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

, while in France, it was called ''le Mal de Naples'' (the

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

disease), after the syphilis outbreak in 1494/1495 while French troops were besieging Naples (

History of syphilis The first recorded outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1494/1495 in Naples, Italy, during a French invasion. Because it was spread geographically by French troops returning from that campaign, the disease was known as "French disease", an ...

Syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

). * "

French kiss A French kiss, also known as cataglottism or a tongue kiss, is an amorous kiss in which the participants' tongues extend to touch each other's lips or tongue. A kiss with the tongue stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sens ...

" (A kiss with the tongue is referred to in French as ''un baiser'' or ''une pelle'' (a colloquialism which literally means "a shovel").

Notes

References

{{Profanity English phrases Euphemisms