French Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘Chinese’ and now look at ‘French’ – albeit many of these will have little association with our neighbours across the English Channel.

French dressing is first seen in 1860 and, as with most of these, the meaning is really ‘foreign’ (try replacing ‘French’ with ‘foreign’ for some of the following, mildly amusing).

French toast has been known since the 1630s.But just what is French toast? As a youngster we always referred to French toast as bread only toasted one side (grill or using a toasting fork) with the untoasted side then buttered. Latterly it is bread dipped in a egg and milk mixture and fried (also known as eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, or best of all Poor Knights of Windsor), which I would argue isn't even toast.

French letter has been used since 1856 – and when I say ‘used’, I am referring to the phrase, of course.

French kiss is first seen in 1749 when it appears in the phrase ‘French novel’. Note in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a ‘French kiss’ was a kiss on each cheek.

French doors (or French windows) were first described as such in 1847.

French leave, that is to depart without informing the host, is first seen in 1771 – while the French use filer a ‘l’anglaise meaning ‘to take English leave’.

French fries appears for the first time in 1903, these originally referred to as ‘French fried potatoes’ in 1856. Furthermore, in 1944 the term ‘French frieds’ was used, although it did not catch on, unlike simply ‘fries’ which dates from 1973.

French stick might be a little dated today, we tend to use ‘baguette’, although the French use ‘unsandwich’ to describe the same thing - correctly it isn't a sandwich but a roll of bread stuffed with a filling, while a sandwich is 'sandwiched' between two slices of bread.

French maids are stereotypically wearing that black and white uniform from the 19th century, although the term did not become popular in Britain until the advent of the bedroom farce.

French beans are first described as such in the middle of the 19th century, although these were introduced to Europe and Africa by the Spanish and Portuguese.

French poodles were first bred in Germany in the 15th century for duck hunting. They are known as ‘French’ because the poodle was first identified as a distinct breed in France.

French braid is first used in the 1871 issue of Arthur’s Home Magazine, although the hairstyle was certainly known 3,500 years ago in Greece and Egypt.

French cleaner was an early term for dry cleaning, an error around 1850 by Jean Baptiste Jolly.

French knickers were first worn and known as such in the 1920s.

Chinese Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘spring’ and now look at ‘Chinese’ – albeit many of these will have little association with the Orient.

Chinese lantern is first seen in 1825.

Chinese chequers is not recorded before 1938.

Chinese homer – also known as a Harlem home run, Polo home run, or a Pekinese poke – is a derogatory term used in baseball to describe a ball clearing the nearest point to the base for a home run, first seen in the Los Angeles Times when reporting on a minor league game in August 1919.

Chinese whispers is first found in 1939 when appearing in the Derbyshire Times.

Chinese fire-drill is US military slang first heard in 1962, and describes people running about in a disorderly or chaotic fashion and achieving nothing.

Chinese burn first appears in print in 1936 in the Thames Star, a New Zealand newspaper.

China, as in the porcelain, is first seen in 1650, although this is a shortened form of the earlier China-ware (1630) and China-dishes (1570), and none of these were sold in a China-shop before 1750.

China doll – ie a doll made from china – is first seen in 1756, although it did not become common until the middle of the 19th century.

China plate is unrecorded before 1880.

China syndrome is first recorded in 1970, it refers to the theoretical idea that a nuclear disaster or meltdown would result in it sinking through the Earth and create a hole leading to China and has since been used as a synonym for ‘meltdown’.

China white, a euphemism for very pure form of heroin, is first seen in 1791.

Chinaman’s chance, now considered offensive, first came to prominence in the early 19th century; today we are more likely to say ‘ghost of a chance’.

Chinaman is a cricketing term referring to a ball delivered by a left-arm bowler which spins the wrong way from the natural delivery, ie in to the right-handed batsman. The term comes from what would today be regarded as a highly offensive comment made during a match in 1933 between England and the West Indies. England’s Walter Robins was stumped by the wicketkeeper having been beaten by the ball delivered by Ellis ‘Puss’ Achong who had Chinese ancestry. As he passed the umpire on his way to the dressing room, he said to the umpire “Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman.” On reflection it is probably a good job Robins didn’t refer to the bowler by his nickname, it may have led to all manner of complaints when naming the delivery.