Meaning:
Please forgive my swearing.
Background:
A coy phrase used when someone who has used a swear-word attempts to pass it
off as French. The coyness comes from the fact that both the speaker and
listener are of course well aware the swear-word is indeed English.
This usage is mid 20th century English in origin. A version of it is found in
Michael Harrison's All Trees were Green, 1936:
"A bloody sight better (pardon the French!) than most."
The precise phrase comes just a few years later in S.P.E. Tract IV., 1940:
"Excuse my French! (forgive me my strong language)."
Every country has neighbours they like to look down on. For the English it's
the French.
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
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It's human nature to feel superior through reviling others. From My Fair Lady:
[HIGGINS]
An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him
The moment he talks, he makes some other Englishman despise him
One common language I'm afraid we'll never get
Oh, why can't the English learn to
Set a good example to people whose
English is painful to your ears?
The Scots and the Irish leave you close to tears
There even are places where English completely disappears
Well, in America, they haven't used it for years
Englishmen have no monopoly here; the Chinese have their own prejudices.
Scholars have the tradition of contemning each other. City folks shun peasants,
big-city dwellers look down on small-town visitors, Mandarian speakers deride
dialect spielers, so on and so forth.
