If you want a euphemism for "Merde"

, Le mot de General Cambronne is Merde. That means "shit" in English. This is the
word which made him immortal. Today in France when a Frenchman wants to insult you elegantly, he
says, "Je voux donne le mot de General Cambronne." "I give you the word of General Cambronne."
General Cambronne was made immortal by only one thing, that one word he used at Waterloo.
: