# Just the F.A.Q.'s, ma'am (pronunciation) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339 "2006-10-21T14:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/41 "2006-10-22T12:20:22Z")
I think I usually say F A Q, but I have heard it said FACK many times and I don’t mind that either. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/42 "2006-10-22T15:43:47Z")
I’ve never said FAQ out loud, but in my head I say _eff aay queue_ ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/43 "2006-10-22T15:44:10Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] I don’t think I’ve ever had the need to speak of them, but in my mind’s ear, I always hear “eff-ay-queues,” so that is what I would say. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=twickster] Consider the source. 😉 [/QUOTE] I beg your pardon? (Apparently my mind’s ear is hard of hearing) Anyway, if anyone is still keeping track geographically, even though I now live in the Midwest, I spent my first 42 years in the NYC metropolitan area. Q & A has always been the letters, not quanda. WTF is What the Fuck. And having read the majority of the answers, if I ever have cause to discuss them with anyone, I will say Frequently Asked Questions. I don’t want to come of as a noob, but “fack” just rubs me the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/44 "2006-10-22T17:46:47Z")
Where I work, we use a combination of the two and always refer to it as _“Fah Queue”_. And then we all giggle like schoolgirls. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/45 "2006-10-22T21:35:04Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] [QUOTE=twickster] Consider the source 😉 [/quote] I beg your pardon? (Apparently my mind’s ear is hard of hearing). [/QUOTE] I believe twickster was making a joke based on the fact that your user name seems to be a phonetic spelling of three letters, and that because of that, you would be predisposed to pronounce acronyms/abbreviations this same way. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/46 "2006-10-22T22:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=RJKUgly] I believe twickster was making a joke based on the fact that your user name seems to be a phonetic spelling of three letters, and that because of that, you would be predisposed to pronounce acronyms/abbreviations this same way. [/QUOTE] OIC ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/47 "2006-10-22T22:55:10Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] OIC [/QUOTE] :dubious: Now you’re just messing with our minds… ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/48 "2006-10-23T01:13:04Z")
I have written/edited FAQs as part of my job, and when we talk about them at work FAQ is always pronounced “fack.” Like others have mentioned, “eff ay queue” sounds a little twee – but I _will_ say “frequently asked questions” if I’m talking with someone who isn’t in the IT biz. _One Editor’s Opinion About “Facks”_ If you are talking about one FAQ, “facks” is flat-out wrong: you are pronouncing the acronym, and the pluralized “questions” is already included in the “Q.” It’s on a par with saying “PIN number.” The only time FAQ gets – or is pronounced with – an “s” is when you are referring to more than one set of questions. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/49 "2006-10-23T09:21:47Z")
Fack. I visit [Gamefacks.com](http://Gamefacks.com) sometimes. I definitely pronounce it fack. But then again, I say WTF aloud… double-you tee eff. You never know! I’m zany and unpredictable like that! Woo-woo-wee! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/50 "2006-10-23T11:23:43Z")
In spanish-speaking countries we say “facks” (it’s even making its way into Spanish), but then, we’re still trying to understand why some people would say “bee ai es ef” instead of “BASF” or “es ei pee” instead of “SAP”. I ran into an American in Madrid who was asking for “ar ee en ef ee” once and it took me a few seconds to connect it with “RENFE”! To me, any acronym that’s pronunceable should be pronounced, not spelled. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/51 "2006-10-23T13:22:29Z")
Okay, I was a good girl and googled “quanda” first…and got nothing, except that it’s an African-American name meaning companion. So what are we talking about when we say quanda? Is this similar to saying Zed instead of Zee? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/52 "2006-10-23T14:40:51Z")
I’m no internet newby – I’ve been doing this since at least the mid 90s! And I say _eff aay queue_ out loud, if not Frequently Asked Questions, to make sure that I’m understood. I see no reason not to be clear when discussing things on the internet. As much as we think it’s so pervasive in our lives, there are people who don’t live and breathe all things internet. They shop eBay and Amazon with some regularity; they check medical web sites when they have a health concern. But they don’t have a blog, don’t have 10,000 close message-board friends and probably don’t know LOL=Laugh out Loud. I guess I’m saying there are different levels of internet-savvy, and just because saying Frequently Asked Questions sound archaic to you, it doesn’t mean that it IS! ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/53 "2006-10-23T15:12:45Z")
I’ve heard people say “fack” on occasion, but it just sounds so cutesy. I can’t bring myself to say it out loud. It’s “F-A-Q” for me. In fact, for most computing/internet acronyms I’m partial to just saying the letters rather than trying to make a word out of it. On the other hand, I pronounce SQL “sequel” and it sounds weird to me when people say “S-Q-L.” ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/54 "2006-10-23T15:17:16Z")
Forgot to add, I can’t stand it when people say “gooey” instead of “G-U-I.” Soooo twee. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/55 "2006-10-23T15:28:58Z")
I say “fax” but I have also heard eff-ay-queues from my colleagues. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/56 "2006-10-23T16:34:48Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] On the other hand, I pronounce SQL “sequel” and it sounds weird to me when people say “S-Q-L.” [/QUOTE] Same here. > [@](#): > > I can’t stand it when people say “gooey” instead of “G-U-I.” I work in software development and I have _never_ heard “G-U-I” – it’s always “gooey.” I would immediately understand “F-A-Q” or “S-Q-L,” but I would have no earthly idea what a “G-U-I” was. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/57 "2006-10-23T17:14:34Z")
facks ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/58 "2006-10-23T17:29:01Z")
Around here we generally say “fack”, and I’d have to stop to think for a second if I heard F A Q, “facks” might confuse me, too. Also use “gooey” and “earl” for GUI and URL, and trip-dub for WWW. Outside of work it’d depend on to whom I was speaking. My mother? I’d say “frequently asked questions”, and then explain it to her. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/59 "2006-10-23T17:57:29Z")
If I’m talking to someone and they use a form of FAQ first, I tend to use what they do. I’ll use “faks” before “frequently asked questions” and I’ve never used F.A.Q. For reading to myself, when I see FAQ it’s faks. F.A.Q. is frequently asked questions. I don’t know why my brain makes that distinction. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339/60 "2006-10-23T18:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=XJETGIRLX] Where I work, we use a combination of the two and always refer to it as _“Fah Queue”_. And then we all giggle like schoolgirls. [/QUOTE] I had always assumed the acronym had been specifically chosen to be said as “fah queue,” and so I’ve always said “frequently asked questions” because of that. If I’m reading, I think I read it as “eff ay queue.” Although, FWIW, I generally find that most the questions on a FAQ are not questions I want answered, so what I mostly think when I see “FAQ” is “useless.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-the-f-a-q-s-maam-pronunciation/377339.md?page=4)