James Baquet

    Mark is chatting with his French classmate Georges in the common room of their dorm.

    Mark: …so after I said that bad word, I said, “Pardon my French.”

    Georges: But that word isn’t French!

    Mark: I know, but that’s an expression we use after swearing in front of someone we shouldn’t have.

    Georges: Why? I mean, why French?

    Mark: I read somewhere that in the 19th century, upper-class British might use a French expression, but then apologize for sounding too snobbish.

    Georges: I’ll accept that; French is high-class! But what does it have to do with swearing?

    Mark: Later — perhaps as a joke — someone started saying the same thing after a bad word. Maybe they were trying to pretend that the bad word was a French word.

    Georges: Alright. But I don’t like it!

    Mark: I don’t blame you. Meanwhile, of course, there are lots of French expressions used in English.

    Georges: Give me a few examples.

    Mark: A lot of them are related to food and menus. For example, we use “a la carte” and “a la mode.”

    Georges: I know what they mean in French, but how are they used in English?

    Mark: “A la carte” means on the menu (or “card”), and we use it to describe ordering individual items instead of a set meal.

    Georges: I see. And “a la mode?” It means “fashionable,” or “according to the current style” for us.

    Mark: It can mean that in English. But if you order, say, “pie a la mode,” it will come with ice cream on top.

    Georges: Perhaps at one time that was the latest fashion?

    Mark: I think so! Let’s see; we also say “carte blanche.”

    Georges: White paper? Or maybe blank paper? What does that mean?

    Mark: It means the option to do things any way one chooses. “The boss gave the team carte blanche in completing this project” means the team can proceed any way they want.

    Georges: I see. How does that connect with blank paper?

    Mark: Maybe it’s like another English expression: “You can write your own ticket,” meaning the same thing.

    Georges: I see! Since the paper is blank, you can put anything on it you want.

    Mark: I think that’s it. What else? Ummm… How about “au contraire?”

    Georges: Ah, “on the contrary.” Yes, I understand this one easily.

    Mark: OK, how about “cordon bleu?”

    Georges: The blue ribbon? It is given to the first place winner in a contest, right?

    Mark: Yes, it is. But we also use it to describe anything that’s done very well, and especially if it involves cooking.

    Georges: Maybe that’s because of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris?

    Mark: Probably.

    Georges: Well, I have to go. See you, Mark.