The double-meaning has been noted for a very long time. During the Napoleonic Wars, the French had a harsh, high-security dungeon-like prison at Bitche for Bri

The double-meaning has been noted for a very long time. During the Napoleonic Wars, the French had a harsh, high-security dungeon-like prison at Bitche for British POWs who had caused problems in the regular prisons (trying to escape, attacking guards, etc.). The British troops referred to being sent there as having been "Bitched".