pardon my French
1
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
perdona mi francés
- Pardon my French.
I don't know what the urban dictionary says, pardon my French.
- I don't know what the urban dictionary says, pardon my French.
Examples
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Pardon my French.
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You know, pardon my French... but if you stick around this old world long enough... after a while all your works start falling apart, you know.
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Pardon my French, dear, but... ...I hope you got some pleasure from it because you've really screwed yourself.
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Pardon my French.
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Pardon my French.
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Pardon my French.
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Pardon my French.
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Pardon my French.
Blog text (2) -
Pardon my French, ladies and gentlemen.
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You know, pardon my French... but if you stick around this old world long enough... after a while all your works start falling apart, you know.
Synonyms
A French phrase people say jokingly before or after a mild swear word
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'pardon' plus a possessive signals an apology and the literal reading would be 'forgive my French (language)', the conventional use to excuse swearing is an idiomatic, culturally specific extension that B1 learners who only know the constituent words are unlikely to predict. The meaning depends on language-specific usage rather than transparent composition, so prior exposure is required.
Etymology
The idiom pardon my French may come from when English speakers would say sorry after using a real French word or a rude word that sounded foreign. So today people use pardon my French as a quick, joking way to say 'sorry for swearing'.