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I have recently started playing a board game (A Few Acres of Snow) that pits the British against the French in 18th century New England.

I know how to mock others in general, but in order that trash-talk would be appropriate for the setting, I'd like to know: What are insults/taunts specifically targeting the French, ideally ones that were in use in the 18th century?

Note that I'm looking for English words to mock the French.

French expressions to mock the English can be found on french.stackexchange.com.

Community
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Jonas
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    I think, unfortunately, this is probably off-topic for English.se as appropriate period insults would likely be in French. You might take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_few_acres_of_snow for inspiration, as it includes translated excerpts of some of Voltaire's writing from this time, related to Canada/New France where your game takes place (Voltaire was not a big fan of these acres of snow himself). – aedia λ Oct 03 '11 at 17:28
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    I think OP is looking for 18th-century English insults for French people, no? –  Oct 03 '11 at 17:41
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    "I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries." (Sorry, I couldn't resist. That was a taunt that a French soldier levied against Sir Galahad in Monty Python and the Holy Grail so it may not be quite what you are looking for.) – jimreed Oct 03 '11 at 17:42
  • @jimreed - Yes. Sad the question wasn't reversed, and set in the middle ages. – T.E.D. Oct 03 '11 at 18:17
  • @aediaλ: I'm confused: Did the English in the 18th century speak French? I thought that the use of French even by the English nobility had declined by then. – Jonas Oct 03 '11 at 19:22
  • @onomatomaniak: Exactly. Except that apparently, there weren't any. – Jonas Oct 03 '11 at 19:22
  • @Jonas The best answer I can give you is that French was still a lingua franca at this time for many (many early American artists and politicians, for example, went to France to study) and some form of French would have been a good bet for communicating with Canadien colonists. In the game, if your insult is intended to be about these people rather than a taunt directed at them and intended to be understood, then you would probably want to use English to discuss your opponents with your fellow British game-players. – aedia λ Oct 03 '11 at 21:05
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    @aediaλ: Yes, English words to mock the opponent (like "frog") was what I was looking for. Would that make the question on-topic? – Jonas Oct 03 '11 at 21:42
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    The Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell (set during the Napoleonic wars) often include "Crapaud" (French for "Toad") as an English insult against the French. –  Oct 27 '11 at 16:17

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How about calling them frogs?

The English Chicken
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    Could you give a source which confirms that this would be an 18th century insult which could feasibly be directed from the British to the French? – Daniel Oct 03 '11 at 17:34
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    http://www.word-detective.com/041400.html – Hugo Oct 03 '11 at 19:14
  • @Jen,@Hugo: thanks for the suggestion and the source (which says that "frogs" became used especially for the French in the 18th century). – Jonas Oct 03 '11 at 19:31
  • I've also heard the expression Cheese-eating surrender monkeys. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese-eating_surrender_monkeys – Brad Apr 28 '12 at 11:56
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    @Brad - Putting on my history.SE hat, that would be a bit anachronistic. In the 18th century the French military position in Europe was roughly equivalent to Germany's in the early 20th Century. To put it bluntly, they were badasses. – T.E.D. Aug 03 '12 at 14:17