What's the origin of the term "French kiss"?

northcarrlight · #1 (**permalink**) 03-18-2010, 03:49 PM

Bailey S · #2 (**permalink**) 03-19-2010, 03:49 PM

that is the way the French DO kiss!!

kitkat_55 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-23-2010, 03:49 PM

So how did this slobbery smooch get its name? As far as we can tell, it stems from the stereotype that the French are a morally casual people. Wordorigins.org, which specializes in these sorts of questions, 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 adult-only phrases like "pardon my French" and "French postcards." Ooh la la!

IdiomSite.com says a lot of the same things (i.e., the phrase comes from uptight prudes who believed the French were promiscuous). Several sites and dictionaries mention "soul kiss" as a synonym. Apparently the act of sticking your tongue into the mouth of another person is so intense, your souls intertwine. Hmm, we must be doing it wrong.

stormfire_06 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-28-2010, 03:49 PM

French kiss
Function: noun
: an open-mouth kiss usually involving tongue-to-tongue contact
- French-kiss verb

jimbothe_smartguy · #5 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010, 03:49 PM

This is just one of several such terms, including the expression "Pardon my French" to excuse vulgar language.

"It is thought that the term French is employed in this sense as it already had a history of association with things considered vulgar. 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 syphilis. The OED also equates the adjective French with "spiciness", as in "French letter" for "condom", French kiss (1923) and "French (i. e. "sexually explicit") novels" (from 1749)."

http://www.takeourword.com/Issue058.html

Compare the terms:
the French way (i.e., oral sex)
French postcards (pornographic pictures)
French lessons (prostitution)

See also:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/13/messages/417.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_my_French