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Subject:Re: French .NE. profanity From:"Dave L. Meek's User Account" <dave -at- ROGUE -dot- DISC-SYNERGY -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 4 Aug 1995 17:33:07 -0700
>I watched a Business Writing seminar on a cable TV channel a week or so ago.
>A professor on the show said that most of the profane words in English
>actually are derived from Anglo-Saxon (or Old English). In contrast to the
>"pretty" words derived from the French court of the time, the "ugly" words
>came from the common folks' Old English. Examples were synonyms for
>"smell:" fragrance (Fr.) vs. stink or stench (OE).
>So actually, when we say, "Pardon my French," we have it backwards.
>Cheers! (or should I say, Ciao!?)
>Shelley R. Strong, We are all apprentices in a craft where no one
>Technical Editor ever becomes a master. - Ernest Hemingway
>sstrong -at- techreps -dot- com
>(505) 266-5678 ext. 264
I think that's part of the humor behind the phrase, "Pardon my
French." The speaker is about to say something "ugly" but
purposely misrepresents it as "pretty." Therefore, it's not
backwards; it's a play on obvious contrasts.
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Dave Meek
