Perfidious Albion

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

[edit]

Calque of French perfide Albion. First coined by French poet and playwright Augustin Louis de Ximénès at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars.

Proper noun

[edit]

Perfidious Albion

  1. (poetic or international relations, derogatory) The United Kingdom, seen as a country that is manipulative, deceptive, or treacherous on the international stage.
    Alternative form: perfidious Albion
    • 2009 March 30, Dick Cheney, quotee, “Albion, I stab at thee”, in The Economist[1], →ISSN:
      Vice-President Dick Cheney viewed the move by Britain—“perfidious Albion,” as he put it—as “a stab in the back,” according to a former senior intelligence official.