Meanings
plural French safes
- colloquialeuphemisticA condom.
Ashes, ashes. A used French safe / is blown across the city sidewalk.
1982, David Helwig, The Rain Falls Like Rain, page 1832 more examples
The druggist examined the ets and the cuis in it, and felt sure he knew just what the doctor wanted — proceeded to fill the order, and a French safe was nicely folded up and put in a suitable box labelled “use as directed” and handed to the young lady
1877, “What a Latin prescription did”, in Cincinnati Lancet & Observer, volume 20, page 713We had this daily tournament, to see who could snag, the most French safes with his stick. A French safe is a condom, don’t ask me where the name comes from.
2002, Wes Pipe, Memories of Mines, page 1
Origin
From French + safe. Compare earlier French letter. Attested from the mid 19th century.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
French safe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/French%20safe
“French safe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/French%20safe. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “French safe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/French%20safe.
Source: French safe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.