http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfuckina.html
Could it not be from the Irish? I mean I come from England and when I go over to Ireland you soon pick up that ‘aye’ is used instead of ‘yes’, therefore Fuckin’ A would be Fucking Yes which seems to fit in with all the examples given, just a thought
Paul
the A was understood to mean “awesome”
Personally, I always took it to mean the same thing samclem did. I odn’t know why, though.
RR
Excell- fucking A’- ent report, samclem.
That was a good report. I didn’t get why an asterisk had to be substituted in “p*ss on your cites,” though, since the column elsewhere contained the words “fuck” and “asshole.” Was that irony? Sometimes I’m slow with that kind of thing.
I also, for the record, always sort of thought it meant what samclem said it did.
Except that “aye”/“ay” meaning “yes” is pronounced like “eye”. “Aye” pronounced to rhyme with “hay” means “ever”.
There was a cartoon in Playboy few years ago that depicted a Shakespere type composing a poem for his woman. It was: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day, fuckin’ A.
I used it in the way described in the column, and a few times in university when accidentally walking into friends dorm rooms when they were… occupied…
“Oh… fuckin, eh?”
In one of Ferroll Sams’s books–I think it was When All the World Was Young–some American soldiers in WWII are talking, and someone says, “Fucking aye.” I remember that’s how it was spelled, and so I figured it was “aye” like the word meaning “yes,” as when sailors say “aye aye.” The pronunciation is different, but pronunciations change over time anyway. And that way keeps the meaning more consistent with how it’s generally used.
I think it’s because the other four-letter words were talking about it academically, while the “p*ss” was directed at you, the reader, so a higher standard applies. I think.
Such sheltered lives some seem to lead. The “A” is just short for “Ass,” and it’s a homoerotic reference to anal intercourse. It acquired all the other meanings in the usual manner of transference of meaning of taboo expressions. I assumed as much when I first heard this expression, and have confirmed with several gay men that they’ve always assumed the same.
Just my humble opinion, but if you think about it, it makes a lot more sense than most of the other fanciful explanations.
Yeah, I know some guys who always assumed that “the whole nine yards” refers to (American) football.
When I have heard the phrase, it has always been used as emphatic approval, e.g. “How did the match go?”…“We won 3-0. I scored twice.”…“Fucking A!”.
From that context, I have assumed that the “A” has the usual meaning of “the best, the top grade”, like grade A foodstuffs and grade A in academic work.
People tend to look for abbreviations and acronyms in the etymology of English words and expressions, but they are fairly rare. Fuck is a perfect example itself - many people believe various ridiculously implausible acronyms suchs as “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” to be the etymology of the word.
To the person who thought “Fuckin’ A” might have originated with the movie Office Space (1999), the term was used often by the working class men portrayed in The Deer Hunter, Oscar-winner as Best Picture of 1978.
When I first heard it, I thought it was the imperative, “fuck an A”. In that sense, it’s pretty clear what an A is. So then I encountered it in print as “fuckin’ A” and got confused.
But “abso-fuckin’A-lutely”? I’ve heard of “abso-fuckin’-lutely”, but never with the A in it. Fuck by itself is often used as an intensifier and interjection, so sticking it in the middle of absolutely works just as well. YMMV.
I know he didn’t create the phrase, but for the record, the writer (and director) of Office Space is none other than Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis & Butthead and King of the Hill.
<< many people believe various ridiculously implausible acronyms suchs as “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” to be the etymology of the word. >>
Sigh. Yep, at least once or twice a month, someone sends this amazing etymology to Cecil. Cecil has, of course, already handled What’s the origin of the “F” word?
[[I can remember hearing the phrase for the first time when I entered college in 1962. ]]
SamClem is fuckin old, bwoy.
You’re right, Irishman. It was simply to show what an infix was while sticking to the phrase at hand.
It might interest you to know that the term “abso-fucking-lutely” is first found in print in 1921. It was printed as “abso___lutely.” The context was a discussion of a fad which occurred around the WWI period where soldiers split words and inserted things in the middle. I’ll see if I can find some examples.
Jill. If I only had the wisdom to go with my age I’d be insufferable. <grin>
I think this is a reference to being awestruck… “Fuckin-A”, or the aristocrat version “Fucking Amazing”.