Cherchez la femme

The expression comes from the novel The Mohicans of Paris (Les Mohicans de Paris) published 1854–1859 by Alexandre Dumas (père).[1] The phrase is repeated several times in the novel; the first use reads:

Cherchez la femme, pardieu! cherchez la femme![2]

Look for the woman, by God! Look for the woman!

Dumas also used the phrase in his 1864 theatrical adaptation:

Il y a une femme dans toutes les affaires; aussitôt qu'on me fait un rapport, je dis: « Cherchez la femme ! »[3]

There is a woman in every case; as soon as someone brings me a report, I say, 'Look for the woman!'

The phrase embodies a cliché of detective pulp fiction: no matter what the problem, a woman is often the root cause.

The phrase has thus come to refer to explanations that automatically find the same root cause, no matter the specifics of the problem.

In his 1963 detective novel The Chill, Ross Macdonald's sleuth Lew Archer offers a wry analysis of the concept, stating: "When a woman is murdered, you ask her estranged husband where he was at the time. It's the corollary of cherchez la femme."[4]

• Cui bono
• Follow the money
• Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, a band which in 1976 had a number one U.S. dance hit titled "Cherchez La Femme."
• Fabulous Poodles, a band whose 1977 eponymous debut album included a song titled "Cherchez La Femme."
• "Cherchez La Ghost," a 2000 song by Ghostface Killah which samples the Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band song.
• Churchill "Churchy" LaFemme, Pogo's turtle friend in Walt Kelly's comic strip Pogo.
• Killjoys, a TV series with an episode entitled “Cherchez La Bitch.”
• Cherchez La Femme is the name of a traveling Australian feminist activist media site based in Melbourne. It holds popular events in Melba Spiegeltent and has toured five states of Australia so far.[5]

• Quotations related to Alexandre Dumas at Wikiquote