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Fanny adams

noun, slang

Definitions

Noun

1
Tinned meat. UK, derogatory, obsolete, slang, uncountable
"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’!”"
2
nautical term for tinned meat wordnet
3
Nothing (now largely perceived as euphemistic for fuck all). British, uncountable
4
little or nothing at all wordnet

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.

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