pardon my français
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: pardon my Français
form: pardon my Francais
form: pardon my francais
Etymology: Blend of pardon my French + French français (“French”).
Senses: examples: text: Taxis have become an absolute bugger, if you’ll pardon the français.
ref: 1968, Frederic Raphael, Orchestra & Beginners, Viking Press, →ISBN, page 390:
text: My next bitch, pardon my Francais, may be a perfectly legitimate bug.
ref: 1987 December 7, bi...@killer.uucp, “NetHack Woes”, in comp.sources.bugs (Usenet):
text: “I guess we were the only two at TNF who didn’t give a shit—pardon my français—about politics.[…]”
ref: 1990, Tony Gibbs, Running Fix, Random House, →ISBN, page 76:
text: “Yeah, scared shitless, if you’ll pardon my Français.”
ref: 1992, Vincent Courtney, Wake Up Screaming, Pinnacle Books, →ISBN, page 38:
text: “Jackass bastard,” West muttered. “Pardon my français.[…]”
ref: 1993, Roseanne Williams, Hot Date, Harlequin Books, →ISBN, page 118:
text: First off, pardon my francais. / Second off, stop all this stupid ROGER MAYNARD KILL FILE stuff.
ref: 1994 March 18, Rob Polinsky, “Stop The Roger Maynard Shit!”, in rec.sport.hockey (Usenet):
text: Well, I found Stunt Race FX and KG Baseball to be utter sh*t, pardon my francais.
ref: 1994 September 17, Castellan, “Are you happy with your Jag?”, in rec.sport.hockey (Usenet):
text: Quite a giggle! More humourous^([sic]) than your Bob Hope, I can tell ya’ fuckin’ that, mate! / (BEVERLEY stops playing. There is an astonished pause. ARCHIE smiles, awkwardly.) / ARCHIE: I hope you can pardon my Français, Bev.
ref: 1997, Israel Horovitz, The Primary English Class and Six New Plays, Smith and Kraus, →ISBN, page 99:
text: Tradeoffs suck (pardon my Francais).
ref: 1997 December 29, Steve Sidwell, “Leaving tomorrow for Asia”, in bit.listserv.travel-l (Usenet):
text: Pardon my Francais but was I pissed.
ref: 1998 July 5, Beanie, “Good-Bye My Friends”, in soc.support.depression.manic (Usenet):
text: Chapter 22 / Pardon My Français: Ten (Or So) Expressions You Need to Know
ref: 2001, Cheryl A. Pientka, Laura M. Reckford, France For Dummies, Hungry Minds, →ISBN, page 485:
text: As if he heard my thoughts, he opened the door just then. “Fuck! It’s crazy out there!” he shouted.[…]She pointed to me. “Meet Josh, my student.” / George’s face fell when he saw me. “Whoops! Sorry about that, kid. Pardon my français.”
ref: 2007, Barry Lyga, Boy Toy, Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 129:
text: “No. Goddamit. Pardon my francais, sweetheart.”
ref: 2008, Nisi Shawl, “Good Boy”, in Filter House, Aqueduct Press, →ISBN:
text: Anyway, here I was on this park bench with a French loaf, some cheese and a large bottle of beer trying to figure out how I was going to open the bottle without a ‘tirer-bouchon’, pardon my francais.
ref: 2011, Chris Buch, “Some European Titbits”, in Hello Sunshine: A Blitz Kid’s Journey to the Sunshine State, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 219:
text: And that fuckin trumpet, pardon my francais.
ref: 2015, Stephen King, “Drunken Fireworks”, in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Scribner, →ISBN, page 453:
text: “Because I do not think Tiffany wants a size seven high-heeled Christian Louboutin up her ass—if you’ll pardon my Français.[…]”
ref: 2016, Adam Gittlin, chapter 3, in Deal Master: A Novel, Greenview Publishing, →ISBN, page 28:
text: “Who fucking cares about money?” my mother hissed. When Avery looked up at her from her tea, my mother said sweetly, “Pardon my français.”
ref: 2017, T. Greenwood, “Haven”, in The Golden Hour: A Novel, Kensington Books, →ISBN:
text: “First car and likely your current car, which, pardon my français, is a rolling piece of garbage.”
ref: 2020, Tracy Clark, chapter 1, in What You Don’t See: A Gripping Private Investigator Series, Canelo, →ISBN:
glosses: Synonym of pardon my French.
synonyms: word: pardon my French