Pardon my French...but why?

I am still on this language thing.  But from a different angle now.  The other day I was at the pool with Lisa and the boys and I was listening to a group of three mothers visit.  It wasn't like I was eavesdropping.  I was sitting on the other side of the pool and their language was more colorful than some of the art I have seen recently.  And so expressive!  Kids were all over the place and after a few minutes I realized more than a few belonged to these women.  There went my idea of asking them to watch their language since there were kids around.

I am wondering how we have gotten so free with the foul language.  And why is it always blamed on the French and the sailors?  You know what I am talking about.  "Pardon my French" and "She swears like a sailor" are common sayings but where do they come from.  The "French" I heard at the pool sounded like raw English to me.  And none of them were in uniform.

Naturally, I had to google these stereotypes to determine the "why" and apparently it's not just sailors who swear but troopers and truckers also.  However, sailors-in-port came to be known for swearing and spending (wine, women, song) as ways to compensate for long hours and days or monotonous time aboard ship.  I am going to have to speak to my son about this one.

As far as "Pardon my French" there was chatter about the enmity between the English and the French and since Pardon is already a French word and everything that was bad must be French....you get the drift, but some people believe the expression may have come from 1950s intellectuals who were well-versed in French at the time. In the fifties, cursing was considered to be a major taboo, so the speaker would actually curse in French to be more polite. In these instances, "Pardon my French" would refer to actual French.

What the French!!!

One Christmas, I gave a self-inking stamp to some lucky staff and family members (who could be trusted to use same appropriately).  It was, and still is, a coveted gift item.  Of course, I have one myself. 

During a recent visit to KC, Terry and one of the boys were having a conversation and 4 year old grandson Colten (who was actually 3 at the time) was playing in the room.  At some point, Mr. French was voicing displeasure (in his defense, he was speaking low), however he did say "What the F was he thinking"?  And I do mean the letter F only.   I quickly looked up and so did Colten.  Of course he did.  He can pick up the sound of a dog whistle, a whisper, the crinkly noise of a candy wrapper however, does not hear his name called (repeatedly) when he is right in front of you.    I said "did Papa say a bad word?"  He looked at me with disdain and said "noooo, he said the letter of my last name."  What the French!

Oh, if it was always that easy!  One time when Madi was little, a bee got in the car and as I was desperately trying to get it out, she shouted "get the little bastard".  I said, "Madi, that's a bad word" to which she responded "Oh, I didn't know".  Unfortunately, that was not the last time we heard that response (her father has quite the mouth).  The time her Barbies fell off the coffee table doesn't bear repeating!

Any new words from Dawson since the pool visit, Lisa?  Oh...I didn't know.

Until next time,

Can also stand for

Why the Face?

Your Pal,

Kari