You can take the man out of France but you cannot take the French out of the man, jokingly commented a person in a tweet about the moment French President Emmanuel Macron dubbed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull’s wife “delicious”.
At the end of a joint press conference between the two leaders, the 40-year old French president turned to thank Mr Turnbull for his hospitality.
“I want to thank you for your welcome,” he said, before raising the Gallic charm a notch by adding: “Thank you and your delicious wife for your warm welcome.”
Mr Macron’s interesting choice of English caused prompted instant hilarity on social media, amid some confusion over his intent.
Some observers thought he may have used the word “delicious” as a deliberate joke, coming just seconds after Mr Turnbull referred to the French president’s imminent lunch with members of Sydney’s French community.
The French word for delicious – délicieux – can also translate as “delightful”, even if it is a rather antiquated – some would argue sexist – term.
The potential for linguist slip-ups is not all one-way however, and there is ample potential for English-speakers to fall foul of French.

If it was a linguistic slip, Mr Macron is by no means the first leader to experience translation problems.
Arguably the most infamous supposed gaffe was John F Kennedy’s legendary claim: “Ich bin ein Berliner”, which could mean “I’m a Berliner” or “I’m a doughnut”.