Friday, February 23, 2007

Pardon My French


New French Couture?
Originally uploaded by austinhk.
A common phrase in American English is, "Pardon my French," which is said as an apology after uttering a swear word, sometimes referred to as "potty language." You may be emotional or excited and speak using a profanity or "dirty" word, and so not to offend polite company, you can "back pedal", and excuse yourself with, "Pardon my French."

The foul mouthed American comedian Lenny Bruce wrote a book, How To Talk Dirty And Influence People. The title is a "take off" or a reference to a more famous book by people skills educator, Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends And Influence People. During the editing and publication of President Nixon's internal tapes, indecent language was edited using the phrase, "Expletive Deleted."

Perhaps if you use some "blue language" with French company they will not appreciate the "pardon my French" excuse, so try a different tactic.

Labels: , , , , ,