Gilles de la Tourette syndrome was first described by Parisian doctor Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette in 1885. Originally considered a rare medical curiosity, the syndrome of multiple tics is now regarded as a fairly common neurodevelopmental condition, affecting up to 1% of school-age children. Gilles de la Tourette described the clinical triad of tics, echolalia and coprolalia. The last is relatively rare and no longer features as a diagnostic criterion, despite the media obsession with obscene manifestations. French colleagues react with horror when they see their syndrome’s name shortened to Tourette syndrome, even in 100-word texts!