Cheese-eating surrender monkeys

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"Cheese-eating surrender monkeys" is a satirical and insulting phrase, referring to the French, which gained notoriety in the United States, particularly in the run-up to the war in Iraq; as the war in Iraq grew far longer and bloodier than initially anticipated, the phrase began to fall into disuse.

1 The Simpsons
2 Iraq War
3 Use outside of the United States
4 See also
5 References

[edit] The Simpsons

The phrase was first notably used in the Simpsons episode "'Round Springfield" (first aired on April 30, 1995).

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Bart goes to the nurse's office after suffering from pains in his side (which turn out to be appendicitis from eating a jagged metal "O" in his Krusty cereal) and notices Lunchlady Doris as the nurse. Doris explains that she's been hired as a nurse because of school budget cuts, then states that, "They've even got Groundskeeper Willie teaching French." The next shot is of Willie, an unkempt Scotsman, standing in front of students, dressed in a striped shirt and a beret, saying "'Bonjourrrrr, you cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys!" The "surrender" element of the phrase refers to the rapid collapse of French military resistance in 1940 in the face of the German forces, and the subsequent collaboration by the Vichy government. The implicit characterization of the French as cowards, and the description of the Battle of France as a surrender is—as promulgators of the phrase likely intend—regarded by many as highly offensive.

The character of Groundskeeper Willie is known for his grumpiness and animosity, and the format of the phrase in question is in keeping with his characteristic style of insult (as when, in another episode ["Kamp Krusty"], he calls Principal Skinner a "silk-wearing buttercup"). His attempt to speak French with a heavy Scottish accent provides much of the comedy in the scene. According to the DVD commentary for the episode, the line was likely (but not certainly) written by Ken Keeler.

In the European French language version of that Simpsons episode, Willie's line was dubbed as singes mangeurs de fromage (cheese-eating monkeys) without any mention of "surrender". The line does not translate well due to the way "surrender" is used as an adjective in the phrase.

[edit] Iraq War

The line was first picked up and used predominantly by Republican American politicians and publications. They were led, according to British national newspaper The Guardian, by Jonah Goldberg, a popular columnist for the US bi-weekly National Review and editor of their website National Review Online. Goldberg's online-only column, the G-File, is written in a more casual, personal manner and in the late 1990s often contained Simpsons (and other pop-cultural) references. Goldberg's repeated aggressive use of the phrase "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" led to its more widespread use amongst his readers. Oddly enough, Goldberg had stopped using it by the time the phrase was gaining mainstream popularity post-9/11.

France opposed many U.S. positions and actions, in particular the 2003 invasion into Iraq. Some argue the phrase's success reflects deep antipathy in the U.S. towards countries such as France who oppose the U.S. in international forums. The phrase, and similar opprobrious comparisons, have been used more frequently by some U.S. media outlets, such as the New York Post and commentator John Gibson of the FOX News Channel (both owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also owns The Simpsons), and commentator Mark Hyman of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

[edit] Use outside of the United States

Use of the phrase has also grown outside of the United States, particularly in the United Kingdom where The Simpsons is also very popular and Francophobia is even more deeply entrenched in the culture. It is generally used in two ways:

by conservative politicians opposed to increased links with continental Europe.

more often, as an ironic reference poking fun at the offensive terms supposedly used by many Americans.

In December 2005, the phrase was used by British Eurosceptic Nigel Farage who said of the French President, Jacques Chirac, "No cheese-eating surrender monkey, he", in his unflattering comparison to Tony Blair during a European Parliament session following Blair's brokering of the EU budget deal.

Edouard Lapaglie, faux French comedy sidekick to broadcaster Martin Kelner on BBC Radio in Yorkshire on a Friday and Saturday night, is frequently referred to jocularly as a soap-dodging cheese-eating surrender monkey.

In Peter Milligan's X-Statix book for Marvel Comics he introduced a supervillain of French descent known as Surrender Monkey. His super power was the ability to "quit at just the right time".

On the popular satirical British TV show Have I Got News For You, former Conservative leader William Hague has used the phrase when hosting the show on two different occasions. The first time he did it, however, it said that he didn't agree with it, and that they had left out "wine-guzzling".