French leave--British English and American English

French leave--British English and American English

今天无意间看到French leave这个短语，就顺手翻了一下词典。牛津的解释：

take French leave (BrE) to leave work without asking permission first 擅离职守

这好像跟我印象里的意思不太一样，于是又在网上搜索了一下。

Merriam-Webster: an informal, hasty, or secret departure; Etymology: from an 18th century French custom of leaving a reception without taking leave of the host or hostess

The American Heritage: An informal, unannounced, or abrupt departure. From the 18th-century French custom of leaving without saying goodbye to the host or hostess.

MSN Encarta: unannounced departure: a quick departure or absence, without explanation or permission ( dated informal ) [a supposed French custom of leaving a party without saying goodbye]

这下应该差不多了。我自己的理解就是：French leave = 不辞而别，不一定只限于工作上的擅离职守。当然，牛津有它的地位，既然它这么解释，那在英式英语里，take French leave应该不适用于工作以外的不辞而别。比较一下：

British English:

A: Why did you take French leave yesterday? （昨天怎么没打招呼就离开办公室啊？）
B: Family emergency. （家里出了点紧急的事。）

American English:

A: I’m sure I saw you at the party last night, but you were nowhere to be found when I wanted to talk to you. Why did you take French leave? （我肯定昨晚在聚会上看到你的，但后来要找你说话的时候却不见人了。你怎么不辞而别啊？）
B: Sorry. I was trying to avoid someone who I didn’t know would show up. Don’t take it personally. （抱歉，我在躲一个没想到会出现的人。不是你的原因，别往心里去。）

另外，在查French leave的时候，又发现两个以前不知道的跟French有关的短语：

French letter （那法语的信件是什么东西？？？）
French paradox （为什么我没这种命？？？）

再想想French fries和French kissing，猜测法国人必定是享乐主义者。