This isn'
t the normal spelling its "Cherchez" but I didn'
t want the sole definition under this spelling to stand uncorrected. It literally means seek (or look) for the
woman. The phrase is outdated and rare in modern text. It was not normally used to blame all problems on women, but rather to say that when a man has done something odd, or otherwise unaccountable, perhaps even committed a crime when he was not previously a criminal - then "look for the
woman" There was a
woman involved. Not that she was necessarily to blame, but that the man had acted because of her in some
way. The idea was that men are often rash and fools where women are concerned.
Why would
Bill have
left work and gotten drunk in the middle of the
day like that? It's just not like him. "Cherche la femme, my friend"