Origin
The phrase "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" first appeared in the American animated television series The Simpsons. In the plot of the 1995 episode "'Round Springfield", budget cuts at Springfield Elementary School force the janitor Groundskeeper Willie to become a French teacher. Expressing his disdain for the French people, he exclaims to his class in his Scottish accent: "Bonjour, you cheese-eating surrender monkeys." On the audio commentary for the episode, executive producer Al Jean said the line was "probably" written by The Simpsons staff writer Ken Keeler. Keeler confirmed this in an interview in 2012 and stated that he considers it to be his best contribution to the show. Jean commented that the staff did not expect the phrase to become widely used and never intended it as any kind of genuine political statement. When "'Round Springfield" was dubbed in French, the word "surrender" was omitted and the line became "singes mangeurs de fromage" ("cheese-eating monkeys").
Read more about this topic: Cheese-eating Surrender Monkeys
Famous quotes containing the word origin:
“The real, then, is that which, sooner or later, information and reasoning would finally result in, and which is therefore independent of the vagaries of me and you. Thus, the very origin of the conception of reality shows that this conception essentially involves the notion of a COMMUNITY, without definite limits, and capable of a definite increase of knowledge.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (18391914)
“High treason, when it is resistance to tyranny here below, has its origin in, and is first committed by, the power that makes and forever re-creates man.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.”
—William Wordsworth (17701850)