pardon my français

See also: pardon my Français, pardon my Francais, and pardon my francais

English

Alternative forms

• pardon my Français
• pardon my Francais
• pardon my francais

Etymology

Blend of pardon my French +‎ French français (“French”).

Verb

pardon my français

1. Synonym of pardon my French
   • 1968, Frederic Raphael, Orchestra & Beginners, Viking Press, →ISBN, page 390:

     Taxis have become an absolute bugger, if you’ll pardon the français.

   • 1987 December 7, bi...@killer.uucp, “NetHack Woes”, in comp.sources.bugs (Usenet):

     My next bitch, pardon my Francais, may be a perfectly legitimate bug.

   • 1990, Tony Gibbs, Running Fix, Random House, →ISBN, page 76:

     “I guess we were the only two at TNF who didn’t give a shit—pardon my français—about politics. […]”

   • 1992, Vincent Courtney, Wake Up Screaming, Pinnacle Books, →ISBN, page 38:

     “Yeah, scared shitless, if you’ll pardon my Français.”

   • 1993, Roseanne Williams, Hot Date, Harlequin Books, →ISBN, page 118:

     “Jackass bastard,” West muttered. “Pardon my français. […]”

   • 1994 March 18, Rob Polinsky, “Stop The Roger Maynard Shit!”, in rec.sport.hockey (Usenet):

     First off, pardon my francais. / Second off, stop all this stupid ROGER MAYNARD KILL FILE stuff.

   • 1994 September 17, Castellan, “Are you happy with your Jag?”, in rec.sport.hockey (Usenet):

     Well, I found Stunt Race FX and KG Baseball to be utter sh*t, pardon my francais.

   • 1997, Israel Horovitz, The Primary English Class and Six New Plays, Smith and Kraus, →ISBN, page 99:

     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.

   • 1997 December 29, Steve Sidwell, “Leaving tomorrow for Asia”, in bit.listserv.travel-l (Usenet):

     Tradeoffs suck (pardon my Francais).

   • 1998 July 5, Beanie, “Good-Bye My Friends”, in soc.support.depression.manic (Usenet):

     Pardon my Francais but was I pissed.

   • 2001, Cheryl A. Pientka, Laura M. Reckford, France For Dummies, Hungry Minds, →ISBN, page 485:

     Chapter 22 / Pardon My Français: Ten (Or So) Expressions You Need to Know

   • 2007, Barry Lyga, Boy Toy, Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 129:

     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.”

   • 2008, Nisi Shawl, “Good Boy”, in Filter House, Aqueduct Press, →ISBN:

     “No. Goddamit. Pardon my francais, sweetheart.”

   • 2011, Chris Buch, “Some European Titbits”, in Hello Sunshine: A Blitz Kid’s Journey to the Sunshine State, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 219:

     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.

   • 2015, Stephen King, “Drunken Fireworks”, in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Scribner, →ISBN, page 453:

     And that fuckin trumpet, pardon my francais.

   • 2016, Adam Gittlin, chapter 3, in Deal Master: A Novel, Greenview Publishing, →ISBN, page 28:

     “Because I do not think Tiffany wants a size seven high-heeled Christian Louboutin up her ass—if you’ll pardon my Français. […]”

   • 2017, T. Greenwood, “Haven”, in The Golden Hour: A Novel, Kensington Books, →ISBN:

     “Who fucking cares about money?” my mother hissed. When Avery looked up at her from her tea, my mother said sweetly, “Pardon my français.”

   • 2020, Tracy Clark, chapter 1, in What You Don’t See: A Gripping Private Investigator Series, Canelo, →ISBN:

     “First car and likely your current car, which, pardon my français, is a rolling piece of garbage.”