A stereotypical french curse that is actually never used by real french people. Same as the mustache and the beret - something only non-french people think is typical of the French.

In French, sacrebleu or sacredieu is always written as one word without accent, the 'e' in the middle being pronounced like a faint and short 'eu' . In English, the phrase is often written with two words: sacre bleu.

Even though present in modern french-language dictionaries, the phrase is not in use in everyday conversation at all anymore.

It is often considered in the English-speaking world as a quintessential French phrase, even though it is not Written with two words (sacre bleu!), it has been popularized by Agatha Christie's Belgian hero Hercule Poirot. The word is also occasionally used by French people depicted in American cartoons. In the popular old comic book, Blackhawk, the phrase is Andre the Frenchman's favorite oath.

Sacrebleu is also used in several recent Disney movies depicting French characters, including The Aristocats, The Little Mermaid (1989 film) and Beauty and the Beast.

(sah-cray bleuh) A very stereotypical (*cough* blame Americans) French curse, which is actually never used by the French. An English equivalent would be "oh my God!." Similarly to its English counterpart, it was once considered very offensive. "Sacré bleu" literally means "sacred blue," but it is supposed to be "sacré Dieu" (sah-cray dyeuh) or "sacred God." "Bleu" replaces "Dieu" in order to avoid the vulgarity of explicitly using the name of God (similar to saying "oh my gosh!" instead of "oh my God!"). In modern times, however, it is no longer commonly used, as it has been eclipsed by many more offensive curses.

A French curse. It translates to "sacred blue", referring to the Catholic Church.

French term of astonishment. a curse. translation; "sacred blue" refers to Christ's mother, Mary, often depicted in art in blue dress. the subversive tone is derived from the question of Mary's immaculate conception (i.e. her birth) and her ability to accept the Holy Spirit and birth Jesus without having ever mensturated.

stereotypical Fr. oath, 1869, from Fr. sacré bleu, lit. "holy blue," a euphemism for sacré Dieu (1768), "holy God."

Holy cow, holy shit. Originates from the French language. Also can be found as: sacré bleu or sacrebleu.