FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Fun Trivia
Home: Questions and Answers Forum
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


Where does the stereotype of the French man wearing a stripped black and white t-shirt, with beret, garlic round his neck, baguette and on a bike come from?

Question #83808. Asked by billythebrit.
Last updated Aug 22 2016.

avatar
lanfranco star
Answer has 5 votes
Currently Best Answer
lanfranco star
20 year member
4170 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
This is an interesting question. I had the idea that it might have come from a film, but the best answer I found is that it is a British stereotype derived from French farmers and agricultural laborers, originally from Brittany, who used to sell their onions in the U.K. They were called "Onion Johnnies" and were seen most commonly in the 1920's:



link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Johnny

Jul 26 2007, 7:45 AM
avatar
satguru star
Answer has 4 votes
satguru star
Moderator
21 year member
1250 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.
As far as the bike is concerned we had an onion man come to our area from the 60s-70s who rode a bike all over London with strings of onions (not garlic admittedly) round his neck looking very much like your description and when he was away his friend did the same. The onion sellers are a common feature there and maybe the shirt was a way to identify them?
Yep Frankie, a Breton sweater. That is a local sailor's striped sweater just like the description.

link http://brittany.networkshosting.com/store/media/meridien.jpg

Response last updated by CmdrK on Aug 22 2016.
Jul 26 2007, 7:48 AM
billythebrit
Answer has 2 votes
billythebrit
18 year member
265 replies

Answer has 2 votes.
Actually, I think the stereotype is onions. Think got it wrong. But garlic...French. They go hand-in-hand too.

Jul 26 2007, 12:40 PM
avatar
Baloo55th
Answer has 2 votes
Baloo55th
22 year member
4545 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.
I can remember onion sellers on bikes as far north as Birkenhead in the 50s. Back then, the British didn't very often use garlic in normal cooking. Only haute cuisine called for garlic. The origin in Brittany, and the striped shirt and beret were typical costume for the region.

Jul 26 2007, 2:53 PM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion

Related FunTrivia Quizzes

play quiz White Flags: They're Not Black & White
( Flags and Symbols)
play quiz Black and White and Red All Over
(Colors for Kids)
play quiz It's All Black and White
( Colors)

Return to FunTrivia
"Ask FunTrivia" strives to offer the best answers possible to trivia questions. We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. This is server B184.