Sunday, October 12, 2003, 12:27 GMT
My Grandma always says "Excuse my French" when she accidentally says a curse word out loud.
Do French people say anything similar about English?
Do French people say anything similar about English?
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cursing question
Sunday, October 12, 2003, 12:27 GMT
My Grandma always says "Excuse my French" when she accidentally says a curse word out loud.
Do French people say anything similar about English?
Sunday, October 12, 2003, 20:02 GMT
Yep, there is an idiomatic term not very nice to british people : when someone go away without warning anyone he's doing so, we will say that he's going away à la British.
e.g. - Où est passé Simon ? Il me doit 10 euros. (where is Simon? he owes me 10 euros.) - Il a encore filé à l'anglaise ! (He's gone again on purpose!) Anyway, I know the British say "To take French leave". So that's fair enough. ;)
Sunday, October 12, 2003, 23:17 GMT
NOOOOOOOO I think you have it wrong. People say "Excuse my French" after they say the f-word because it sounds like the word phoque, which means seal in French. So, they are pretending as if they were saying "phoque" instead of f***.
Sunday, October 12, 2003, 23:19 GMT
Is F... word a curse in English ?
Sunday, October 12, 2003, 23:28 GMT
lol Californian. That is a very original perspective. ;)
Monday, October 13, 2003, 06:40 GMT
Kev, it has four letters, and it rhymes with truck. Don't say it.
Just think, Firetruck......... take out the -iretr-. LOL
Monday, October 13, 2003, 07:34 GMT
Californan
Thank you but I know the word
Monday, October 13, 2003, 18:22 GMT
Feck is a new version. I heard it in a movie by a teenage gal.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 03:06 GMT
Fuck.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 03:08 GMT
Feck is a british euphemism for fuck, the American euphemism for fuck is fudge.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 03:15 GMT
I don't think that the people who say "Excuse my French." are pretending that they'd said any French word instead of "fuck". It's mainly the older ... more precisely ... the elderly generation who use this phrase. The word "fuck" isn't often uttered by that generation. "Excuse my French." means "Excuse my bad language (generally)." not in reference to any specific word.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 03:46 GMT
it's turned into more of a saying then anything.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 11:29 GMT
In Poland, we say "Excuse my Latin"
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 12:37 GMT
Does it exist the poland?
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 22:36 GMT
The etymology of the phrase "excuse my French" is explained in details here:
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=232360 |