# for unlawful carnal knowledge **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2000, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140 "2000-02-13T05:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![siva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@siva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siva)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/1 "2000-02-13T05:32:00Z")
Is the word we all know as the “f” word an anacronym. If so, I was wondering if there were any other anacronym’s that are considered as profanity. apologies if i mis-speld ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/2 "2000-02-13T05:57:00Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_268b.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html) ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/3 "2000-02-13T05:59:00Z")
Uncle Cecil covered this in a classic column. Check it out: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_268b.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_268b.html) * * * _What’s another word for euphemism?_ ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/4 "2000-02-13T06:05:00Z")
I can’t remember the band’s name, but this was covered in a song. “If You See Kay” (Tell her I love her). 🙂 Peace, mangeorge * * * I only know two things; I know what I need to know And I know what I want to know Mangeorge, 2000 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/5 "2000-02-13T06:16:00Z")
As noted above, the first word mentioned is _not_ an acronym. There are a couple of acronyms that _include_ vulgar or obscene terms (including the above). I don’t know any vulgar or obscene words that are the result of acronyms. (Aside from such drek at **PTL** or **WWJD** that have _become_ vulgar or obscene by association. People on the opposite end of the political spectrum might deny the vulgarity of the acronyms I cited while adding their own: e.g., **ACLU**. Most of us would agree that **NAMBLA** was an obscenity, but it has not yet become a word in its own right.) Remember that acronyms usually arise among a generally literate population and most of our vulgar and obscene terms are far older than universal literacy. The acronyms that were created _from_ obscene terms generally belong to the family that began with SNAFU and FUBAR and have branched out from there. * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/6 "2000-02-13T17:04:00Z")
How about ‘mofo?’ [www.mofo.com=](http://www.mofo.com=) Morris & Foster Esq. I kid you not. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/7 "2000-02-14T06:15:00Z")
Actually, the acronym comes from the time of Frederick the Great. Servants outside the bedroom one night heard his wife, Brunhilde, exclaim, very loudly, “FRED! You can’t keep on f\*\*king, Fred!!!” The servants thought this was quite funny, but they couldn’t refer to it directly, of course, so they made it into an acronym… replacing “You” with “U”. This is the truth, I was told it by my cousin’s second husband’s sister’s friend, and he’d never lie. Er, lay. Er… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/8 "2000-02-13T21:59:00Z")
Few vulgar words are acronyms simply because they are much older than the practice of forming words in that manner. It’s hard for most people to realize (since it’s a common practice today, especially where computers are involved) that the first word created this way was most likely “radar” around 1940. * * * “What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet. [www.sff.net/people/rothman](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman) ---
**Author:** ![ignatiusjreilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@ignatiusjreilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatiusjreilly)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/9 "2000-02-13T22:07:00Z")
I know that things get recycled in here pretty quickly, but this one is super fast. Same question _different_ ancronym less than a week ago: [http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005595.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005595.html) ---
**Author:** ![Crystalguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Crystalguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crystalguy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/10 "2000-02-13T22:32:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by mangeorge: > \*\*I can’t remember the band’s name, but this was covered in a song. “If You See Kay” (Tell her I love her). 🙂 > Peace, > mangeorge > > \*\* Some of us obnoxious little boys back in the 1940’s used to sing this little jingle to annoy the little girls. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/11 "2003-02-05T02:06:07Z")
Aleister Crowley interpreted _fuck_ as based on the two initial sounds of the Greek words [symbol]jalloV[/symbol] (_phallos_) and [symbol]kteiV[/symbol] (_kteis_), which mean ‘penis’ and ‘vagina’. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/12 "2003-02-05T02:44:12Z")
So, basically, Crowley’s grasp of philology was as poor as his grasp of theology and anthropology? ---
**Author:** ![regnad\_kcin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@regnad\_kcin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/regnad_kcin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/13 "2003-02-05T03:12:47Z")
Heres a good link: [http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorf.htm](http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorf.htm) Lotsa good stuff on this site. This link goes to the “f” page. Scan down to the specific “f” word we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Junchbailey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Junchbailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junchbailey)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/14 "2003-02-05T03:33:23Z")
And I thought this was going to be a Van Halen thread. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/15 "2003-02-05T04:31:17Z")
Cool, UBB links! ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/16 "2003-02-05T06:27:34Z")
Handy - I work at MoFo. Everyone has fun with the name, it started being used as an abbreviation many decades ago, some people got the joke and others didn’t but I’m positive that we aren’t the derivation of the term! An inhouse video was produced showing various partners responding to the question “What does MoFo mean to you?” - (legendary service, friends ask for t-shirts, etc etc) and then they took the camera out onto the streets of NYC and asked random folks the same question, got their reactions, then said “What would you say if we told you that’s the name of a big law firm?” You can imagine the answers… ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/17 "2003-02-05T07:45:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > \*\*Most of us would agree that **NAMBLA** was an obscenity, but it has not yet become a word in its own right \*\* Which one? The **N** ational **A** ssociaton of **M** arlon **B** rando **L** ook **A** likes, or the other one? ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/18 "2003-02-05T08:57:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > **It’s hard for most people to realize (since it’s a common practice today, especially where computers are involved) that the first word created this way was most likely “radar” around 1940.** That is what I thought too, untill I came across the following passage in [Take Our Word For It](http://www.takeourword.com/Issue063.html), a normally reliable newsletter on etymology: > [@](#): > > The earliest acronym of which we are aware is, unfortunately, a racial slur. It is _Peruvian_, a derogatory term for “Jew” used in South Africa in the 1890s. This peculiar term comes from P.R.U. which is said to stand for “Polish and Russian Union”. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to track it down anywhere else. Could anyone else confirm or deny this very early acronym? ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/19 "2003-02-05T09:11:35Z")
Without acronyms, I think humanity would have killed itself off by virtue of tongues falling out and heads exploding. ---
**Author:** ![Jammers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammers)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140/20 "2003-02-05T10:20:21Z")
See You Next Thursday. Actuall, come to think of it, this one doesn’t really make any sense. Stiill, makes for a great ‘In-Joke’ Jxx [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/7140.md?page=2)