# Aphabetic Pairs -- interesting facts

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877>\
**Category:** Thread Games\
**Created:** [April 6, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877 "2017-04-06T12:40:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 8

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/141 "2017-04-25T18:00:42Z")

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FG - Fred Grandy

The actor who played “Gopher” on _The Love Boat_ later served as a five-term Republican Congressman from Iowa.

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**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/142 "2017-04-25T19:55:09Z")

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FH = Frank Herbert, author of _Dune_ and its sequels, was raised a Catholic, but converted to Zen Buddhism late in life.

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**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/143 "2017-04-26T01:22:14Z")

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FI = Florence, Italy

Birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.

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**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/144 "2017-04-26T02:17:06Z")

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FJ = Famke Janssen, actress, probably best remembered as Jean Grey in the X-Men movies. An earlier role, coincidentally, was in the 1992\* Star Trek: The Next Generation\* episode “The Perfect Mate”, as empathic metamorph Kamala, opposite Patrick Stewart as Capt. Picard.

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**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/145 "2017-04-26T03:11:00Z")

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FK = Freddy Krueger, the demon sleep-murderer of “A Nightmare on Elmstreet.” The idea for Freddy was based on an actual spate of mysterious deaths in Los Angeles, wherein the victims had reported terrible nightmares to friends and family in the preceding weeks, and then died in their sleep.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/146 "2017-04-26T04:18:24Z")

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FL = Foghorn Legnorn

See FA = Fred Allen, above

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**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/147 "2017-04-26T05:05:39Z")

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FM = French’s Mustard

Brothers George and Francis French introduced their yellow mustard at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/148 "2017-04-26T07:13:42Z")

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FN - Florence Nightingale, the “Lady with the Lamp”, was named after the city where she was born (Florence in Italy)

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**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/149 "2017-04-26T11:51:45Z")

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FO = Frank Oz, Muppetteer responsible for Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy and Yoda. Also a successful director. Radio adaptations of Star Wars V & VI replaced him with John Lithgow as Yoda.

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/150 "2017-04-26T12:19:13Z")

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FP = Fritz Peterson

Fritz Peterson was the best pitcher the Yankees had during their forgettable doldrum years that followed their 1964 World Series loss. He is best known for the 1973 “trade” with teammate Mike Kekich, in which Peterson and Kekich traded families, swapping their wives and children for each other’s. Peterson is still married to the former Mrs. Kekich.

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**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/151 "2017-04-26T19:40:02Z")

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FQ = French Quarter

New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood. The entire district is a National Historic Landmark.

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/152 "2017-04-26T20:14:56Z")

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FR = Fort Royal

Fort Royal was one of three forts built by the French several decades before New Orleans was founded, to defend Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/153 "2017-04-26T20:20:10Z")

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FS = Frank Sinatra. In 1945, Sinatra made a short film, _The House I Live In_, that spoke out against anti-Semitism and racial intolerance. Ironically, a decade later, its liberal slant got him tagged as a Communist sympathizer during the McCarthy trials. Sinatra never testified, but it was more fodder for his already growing FBI file.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/154 "2017-04-27T21:46:44Z")

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FT = Forked Tongue

The forked tongue evolved in some reptiles, presumably to give more surface area for the reptile to detect chemicals in the environment, and it is hypothesized that it even renders directionality for the origin of sensed odors. The use of the term to indicate deceitful speech became widespread among Native Americans, but it was used for that metaphor in the early 1600s, and is found in Milton’s “Paradise Lost”.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/155 "2017-04-28T02:24:08Z")

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FU = Felix Unger

Felix is the fastidious member of Neil Simon’s _The Odd Couple_. Art Carney originated the role on Broadway, but Tony Randall is probably the best known Felix from the TV series based on the play. The character has been played by many other well known actors including Jack Lemmon, Ron Glass and even Sally Struthers (as Florence Unger).

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**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/156 "2017-04-28T12:49:11Z")

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FV- Young Joe Pesci was a friend of Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons. When Pesci took his Oscar winning role in “Goodfellas,” he re-named his character Tommy De Vito after one of the 4 Seasons

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/157 "2017-04-28T12:57:21Z")

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FV = Fatal Vision

“Fatal Vision” was a 1983 true crime book that became controversial because the author, who was hired to write a book showing innocence, determined that the suspect was guilty.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/158 "2017-04-28T13:15:43Z")

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FW - F. W. Woolworth’s store. At the start of singer Nanci Griffith’s song _Love at the Five and Dime_, she prefaces it by saying that on her first trip to London she saw a Woolworth’s and wanted to stop. "“Woolworth’s stores smell the same all over the world – like popcorn and chewing gum rubbed around on the bottom of a leather-soled shoe.” The ping! sound in the song was inspired by the elevator at a Woolworth’s.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/159 "2017-04-28T18:43:57Z")

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FX = Factor X

Factor X is part of fresh frozen plasma and the prothrombinase complex. There are two commercially available Factor X concentrates approved for use in the United States by the FDA.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphabetic-pairs-interesting-facts/783877/160 "2017-04-28T19:02:24Z")

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FY = Fiscal Year. In the USA, that’s typically October through September.

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