| Cheese-eating Surrender Monkeys |
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The phrase was first used by the dour Scottish character Groundskeeper Willie in the television cartoon series '' The Simpsons '' to describe the French. 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 Coward s, 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 ''Simpsons'' episode " 'Round Springfield " first aired on April 30 , 1995 ; in it the local school, Springfield Elementary, has succumbed to budget cuts. Lunchlady Doris states, "they've even got Groundskeeper Willie teaching French." The next shot is of Willie as a teacher, saying "'bonjourrrrr, you cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys!" The character of Groundskeeper Willie is known for his grumpiness and animosity; he reserves particular venom for the French. His attempt to speak French with an extremely heavy 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 . The line was first picked up and used predominantly by Republican American politicians and publications. They were led, according to UK daily '' The Guardian '', by Jonah Goldberg , a columnist for the US bi-weekly '' National Review ''. France opposed many U.S. positions and actions, in particular the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some argue the phrase's success reflects deep antipathy in the U.S. against 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, oddly enough, also owns ''The Simpsons''), and commentator Mark Hyman of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group . In the European French language version of that ''Simpsons'' episode, Willie's line was dubbed as ''singes mangeurs de fromage'' (cheese-eating monkeys). 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 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. SEE ALSO
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