Fanny Adams en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From Fanny Adams (1859–1867), a young girl brutally murdered and dismembered. Tins of mutton introduced in the British navy after her death were not liked by the sailors and were humorously said to be her butchered remains. Fanny Adams then came to mean any worthless thing, and, eventually, nothing at all ("sweet F A"). Coincidentally, the initials "FA" also fit the vulgar term fuck all, also meaning "nothing at all", leading to later perception of "Fanny Adams", or "FA", being a euphemism for the latter.
Meanings
-
(UK, derogatory, obsolete, slang, uncountable) Tinned meat.
The Engineer Lieutenant pushed his head inside his neighbour's cabin: “Come along—come along! You'll be late for dinner. Fresh grub to-night: no more ‘Russian Kromeskis’ and ‘Fanny Adams’!”
1916, Bartimeus [pseudonym; Sir Lewis Ritchie], Naval Occasions, and Some Traits of the Sailor-man, Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons:
- (UK, uncountable) Nothing (now largely perceived as euphemistic for fuck all).
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SFA | alternative | lexicographic | |
| sweet FA | alternative | lexicographic | |
| sweet Fanny Adams | alternative | lexicographic |