这个短语的字面解释是“法国式接吻”，这是什么意思呢？请看对话：

    A: Is Mary really dating your brother?

    B: Apparently she is. I saw them French kissing on the porch last night.

    Note: Either a verb or noun, the term refers to an open-mouth kiss where tongues touch. It stems from the stereotype that the French are a morally casual people. Wordorigins.org says the term dates from at least the 1920s but doesn’t know exactly who coined the phrase. The site goes on to draw parallels to other phrases like “pardon my French” and “French postcards” (a small, postcard-sized piece of cardstock featuring a photograph of a nude or semi-nude woman). As far back as the early 16th century, “French pox” and “the French disease” were synonyms for genital herpes, and “French-sick” was another term for syphillis. “French letter” is an English slang term for “condom.”