Editing Cheese-eating surrender monkeys

{{Short description|Pejorative term for French people}}
"'''Cheese-eating surrender monkeys'''", sometimes shortened to "'''surrender monkeys'''", is a [[pejorative]] term for [[French people]]. The term was coined in 1995 by [[Ken Keeler]], a writer for the television series ''[[The Simpsons]]'', and has entered two Oxford quotation dictionaries.<ref name=":0" />

== Origin ==
The term "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" first appeared in {{"-}}[['Round Springfield]]", an April 1995 episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', an American animated television show.<ref name="guardianYoungeHenley">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/france/story/0,,893202,00.html |access-date=2011-08-05 |work=[[The Guardian]] |title=Wimps, weasels and monkeys&nbsp;— the US media view of 'perfidious France' |first1=Gary |last1=Younge |first2=Jon |last2=Henley |date=2003-02-11}}</ref> In the episode, budget cuts at [[Springfield Elementary School]] force the school's Scottish janitor, [[Groundskeeper Willie]], to teach French. Expressing his disdain for French people, he says in a heavy Scottish burr to the class: "Bonjourrrrrrrrr, you cheese-eating surrender monkeys!"{{sfn|Turner|2004|p=54}}{{sfn|Richmond & Coffman|1997|p=173}}<ref>{{cite book |title=The Simpsons In The Classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield |page=12 |author1=Du Vernay, Denise |author2=Waltonen, Karma |publisher=McFarland |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7864-4490-8}}</ref>

On the episode's [[audio commentary]], executive producer [[Al Jean]] said the line was "probably" written by ''The Simpsons'' staff writer [[Ken Keeler]].<ref name=Jean>{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode {{"-}}[['Round Springfield]]" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In a February 2012 interview, Keeler confirmed that he coined the term; he said he considers it his best contribution to the show.<ref name=Keeler>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/02/simpsons_talent_share_their_fa.php?page=3 |title=Best 'Simpsons' Moments: Castmembers Share Their Favorite Contributions to Celebrate the 500th Episode |work=[[OC Weekly]] |access-date=2012-05-05 |date=2012-02-14 |author=Du Vernay, Denise |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012025810/http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/02/simpsons_talent_share_their_fa.php?page=3 |archive-date=2013-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Al Jean commented that the staff did not expect the term to become widely used and never intended it as any kind of genuine political statement.<ref name=Jean/>

When {{" '}}Round Springfield" was dubbed for a French audience, the line became "Rendez vous, singes mangeurs de fromage" ("Surrender, cheese-eating monkeys").<ref name=benm>{{Cite news |last=Macintyre |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Macintyre |title=Last word: Any word that embiggens the vocabulary is cromulent with me |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=August 11, 2007 |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2234263.ece |access-date=August 3, 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615125010/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2234263.ece |archive-date=June 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=L'image de la France dans les Simpson |url=https://www.simpsonspark.com/dossiers/france |website=www.simpsonspark.com |access-date=24 May 2024 |language=fr}}</ref>

== Later use and impact ==
In 2005 [[Ned Sherrin]] selected the term for inclusion in the third edition of the ''Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations''.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Sherrin |first=Ned |author-link=Ned Sherrin |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-957006-5 |edition=fourth |location=Oxford, England |page=xii; 137}}</ref> It is also included in the 2007 ''Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharto |first=Russell |author-link=Russell Sharto |date=August 24, 2007 |title=Simpsons quotes enter new Oxford dictionary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1561004/Simpsons-quotes-enter-new-Oxford-dictionary.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202182829/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1561004/Simpsons-quotes-enter-new-Oxford-dictionary.html |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |access-date=September 23, 2008 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London, England}}</ref>

=== Political ===
The term gained political traction in the US, especially in right-wing circles, when [[Jonah Goldberg]], a columnist for the ''[[National Review]]'' magazine, used it in the title of an April 1999 column on the "Top Ten Reasons to Hate the French".<ref name="Goldberg1">{{cite news|last=Goldberg |first=Jonah |author-link=Jonah Goldberg|title=Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys From Hell |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/204434/cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys-hell/jonah-goldberg |access-date=August 5, 2011 |newspaper=[[National Review]] |date=April 16, 1999 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130235956/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/204434/cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys-hell/jonah-goldberg |archive-date=January 30, 2015 }}</ref> In the run up to and during the [[Iraq War]], Goldberg reprised it to criticize European nations and France in particular for not joining the [[Coalition of the willing (Iraq War)|Coalition of the Willing]], the United States-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.<ref name="guardianYoungeHenley" />

In 2005, [[Nigel Farage]] used the phrase in a debate with [[Tony Blair]] over the United Kingdom's financial contributions to the [[European Union]], in which Farage contrasted Blair with [[Jacques Chirac]], whom Farage praised for standing up for the French people, while accusing Blair of failing to do the same for the British people.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 December 2018 |title=BREXIT - Relive Nigel Farage vs Tony Blair EU clash at European Parliament |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zupuJkLWwfM&t=92s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/zupuJkLWwfM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=1 November 2021 |website=YouTube |publisher=ProductiehuisEU}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mcfadyen |first1=Siobhan |date=28 August 2016 |title=Still think the future is Europe, Tony? Watch 2005 Farage give Blair a super EU smackdown |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/704539/Watch-Nigel-Farage-give-Tony-Blair-a-super-EU-smackdown-back-in-2005 |access-date=2 November 2021 |website=Daily Express}}</ref>

[[Ben Macintyre]] of ''[[The Times]]'' wrote in August 2007 that it is "perhaps the most famous" of the [[List of neologisms on The Simpsons|coinages from ''The Simpsons'']] and it "has gone on to become a journalistic cliché".<ref name="benm" /> The ''[[New York Post]]'' used it (as "Surrender Monkeys") as the headline for its December 7, 2006, front page, referring to the [[Iraq Study Group]], and its recommendation that American soldiers be withdrawn from [[Iraq]] by January 2008.<ref name="PBP">{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/12072006/news/nationalnews/iraq_appease_squeeze_on_w__nationalnews_.htm |title=Iraq 'Appease' Squeeze on W. |work=[[New York Post]] |date=December 7, 2006 |first=Niles |last=Lathem |access-date=February 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126132159/http://www.nypost.com/seven/12072006/news/nationalnews/iraq_appease_squeeze_on_w__nationalnews_.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' (November 2010) cited it in relation to [[Anglo-French military cooperation]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8105022/Angle-French-force-Cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys-Non.html |title=Anglo-French force: Cheese-eating surrender monkeys? Non |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |author=Rayment, Sean |date=2010-11-02 |access-date=2011-08-03}}</ref> In August 2013, ''[[The Independent]]'' suggested an evolution away from the term, in a headline about [[French-American relations]] over the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite news | title = From 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' to America's new best friends? | work = [[The Independent]] | first = John | last = Lichfield | date = 30 August 2013 | access-date = 18 December 2013| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/from-cheeseeating-surrender-monkeys-to-americas-new-best-friends-franois-hollande-talks-tough-on-syria-after-uk-backs-down-8791471.html}}</ref>

On 6 March 2014, opposition Leader [[Bill Shorten]] used the term in the [[Australian Parliament]]. He called the [[Government of Australia]] "the cheese-eating surrender monkeys of Australian jobs".<ref>{{cite news |author=Gabrielle Chan |date=2014-03-06 |title=Qantas bill passes lower house - as it happened &#124; Australia news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/qantas-first-up-in-parliament-politics-live?CMP=twt_gu#block-5317be66e4b0ddf0c7eca19d |access-date=2016-01-30 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> When asked to withdraw the comment, Shorten claimed he borrowed the line from an American politician, whom he could not name.{{CN|date=October 2022}} On 28 July 2014, Australia's Immigration Minister [[Scott Morrison]] used it to describe the [[Labor Party of Australia|Labor]] and Greens position on asylum seekers.<ref>{{cite web |date=28 July 2014 |title=Scott Morrison says 157 Tamil asylum seekers are 'economic migrants' not in danger of persecution in India, calls Labor and Greens 'surrender monkeys' |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-28/consular-staff-begin-processing-of-tamil-asylum-seekers/5627732 |access-date=30 January 2016 |work=ABC News}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===
[[Anthony Bourdain]] described fellow chef [[Patrick Clark (chef)|Patrick Clark]] in his book ''[[Kitchen Confidential (book)|Kitchen Confidential]]'' (2000) as follows: "He was kind of famous; he was big and black; most important, he was an American, one of us, not some cheese-eating, surrender specialist Froggie."<ref name="Bourdain 2013 p. 138">{{cite book | last=Bourdain | first=Anthony | author-link=Anthony Bourdain | title=Kitchen Confidential | publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-4088-4504-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAsRYpsX9dEC&pg=PA138 | page=138}}</ref>

[[Jeremy Clarkson]] used it on ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' in June 2003, describing the handling of the [[Renault Clio V6]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Top Gear - Jeremy Clarkson "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys"| date=6 October 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4FpJ-PSnpQ&vl=en-GB |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/f4FpJ-PSnpQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2019-09-08}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He later used it in a 4 June 2006 episode of ''Top Gear'', to describe the manufacturers of the [[Citroën C6]].{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} Later on in the television show, (Series 13, Episode 5) Clarkson describes the other French drivers as "cheese-eating sideways monkeys", referring to the fact that the other drivers were overtaking him while sliding sideways.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

==See also==
*''[[112 Gripes about the French]]''
*[[Anti-French sentiment in the United States]]
*[[Axis of weasels]]
*[[Francophobia]]
*[[Freedom fries]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family  |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperPerennial]] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}}|title-link=The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family }}
*{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Turner (author) |title=Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation |others=Foreword by [[Douglas Coupland]]. |edition=1st |year=2004 |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |oclc=670978714 |isbn=978-0-306-81341-2 |title-link=Planet Simpson }} 
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051029101109/http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F32.html {{" '}}Round Springfield" episode guide]&nbsp;– [[The Simpsons Archive]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040609050950/http://www.snpp.com/guides/foreign.html#france References to France on ''The Simpsons'']&nbsp;– [[The Simpsons Archive]]

{{Ethnic slurs}}
{{The Simpsons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys}}
[[Category:Cheese]]
[[Category:1995 neologisms]]
[[Category:American phraseology]]
[[Category:Anti-French sentiment in the United States]]
[[Category:The Simpsons]]
[[Category:1990s neologisms]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for European people]]
[[Category:Metaphors referring to food and drink]]
[[Category:France–United States relations]]
[[Category:Metaphors referring to monkeys]]