IdiomDaily LifeFrench

À l'usage du Dauphin

Meaning: Expurgated; censored for delicate sensibilities.

Literally: For the use of the Dauphin

Example: “L'édition scolaire du roman est à l'usage du Dauphin : toutes les scènes osées ont disparu.” — The school edition of the novel is heavily censored: all the racy scenes are gone.

Origin: From the ad usum Delphini editions of the classics prepared for Louis XIV's son, with the indecent passages removed. The label became a byword for bowdlerization, generally sneering.

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