# Whence "Phut"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417 "2003-05-11T01:14:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/1 "2003-05-11T01:14:04Z")
Alright, UK Dopers… What is “PHUT”? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/2 "2003-05-11T02:29:12Z")
The sound of a silenced gunshot? It is in the movies anyway. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/3 "2003-05-12T00:08:57Z")
I think it’s a place where dances take place. I once saw this sign advertising the **HIPHOPHUT** and all of the people heading for the PHUT said they were going there to dance. (I don’t know who HIPHO is, though). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/4 "2003-05-12T00:32:53Z")
**Reeder** is basically correct. The OED cites Kipling(1888) first. They also add > [@](#): > > to go phut: to come to a sudden end; to break down, cease to function. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/5 "2003-05-12T01:44:26Z")
A wild guess: Is this the beef soup the Vietnamese pronounce “fuh?” If so, it’s a staple of Viet cuisine, with a thousand variations. ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/6 "2003-05-12T01:55:13Z")
Yeap, **samclem** , my father (a Chinese-Maylasian who spent time in the UK amongst the Welsh and Scots then moved to NZ) uses is a like you would use ‘kaput’ and ‘fineto’. He also uses it as a pseudo swear word amongst children; as a result I tend to say ‘phut’ alot under pressure. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/7 "2003-05-12T01:56:41Z")
Whence “phut?” Um tut sut. (We need some more context, bitte.) ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/8 "2003-05-12T02:03:25Z")
I’m sure I’ve seen it used to mean the sound of a dart or pellet being fired from a gun. I’m not certain though… Or maybe whence `phut` is /usr/dict/mystery ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/9 "2003-05-12T03:23:58Z")
I have seen this word “Phut” in the background on British television programs (Mr. Bean prompted this question). Is that a helpful context, **DrFidelius**? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/10 "2003-05-12T04:12:16Z")
AskNott: The Vietnamese noodle soup is called Pho (the o has an accent mark which resembles a question mark minus the period). Phut (with an acute accent mark), though, is the Vietnamese word for _minute_ (as in 60 seconds). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/11 "2003-05-12T04:31:38Z")
**hammerbach**. Let me make it clearer. From the OED > [@](#): > > ``` > An imitation of a dull, abrupt sound, esp. that of a firearm. Phr. to go phut: to come to a sudden end; to break down, cease to function. Also as n., the sound of something ‘going phut’. > > ``` > > 1898 STEEVENS With Kitchener to Khartum 143 Thud! went the first gun, and phutt! came faintly back, as its shell burst on the zariba. [1898 J. M. FALKNER Moonfleet ix. 125 There came a flash of fire…and a fut, fut, fut, of bullets in the turf. 1917 ‘CONTACT’ Airman’s Outings 242 He will sometimes hear the rattle of a mysterious machine-gun, or even the phut of a bullet. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/12 "2003-05-12T13:30:12Z")
Yes, bu why would someone write that on a wall? Or on a sign? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/13 "2003-05-13T12:25:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, bu why would someone write that on a wall? Or on a sign? I don’t know. I’m British and have never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/14 "2003-05-13T12:28:16Z")
I always used it as an abbrev. for Pizza Hut. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/15 "2003-05-13T12:49:09Z")
Well, as we know, **Mr. Bean** _is_ the prime source for studying popular British culture. Rather as I know that there are many short bald men around London whose heads are frequently mistaken for breasts, from studying **Benny Hill**. Really **hammerbach** , it is an absurdist comedy programme. The set designers must have felt “Phut” would be a funny thing to write on a wall, or use as a running gag. (I must admit I have seen very few episodes of the show in question, as the character sets my teeth on edge.) ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/16 "2003-05-13T14:26:33Z")
Yes, I’m aware of all that (I wonder how many first impressions of American culture came from The A Team, or even worse, Jackass.) I have seen it elsewhere, but I can’t remember where. Oh, well… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/17 "2003-05-13T17:01:22Z")
Ah ha. > [@](#): > > …There follows an evening at CLUB PHUT… From the [www.hsn.dk/rowan/info3-1.html+%22mr+bean%22+phut&hl=en&ie=UTF-8](http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:rlOCwUIp2W0C:%5Burl)]Mr Bean episode guide (Site may have disappeared - link is to Google cache. So, the writers of Mr Bean decided it would be funny to call a place “Club Phut”. That was presumably on the wall in the episode you saw. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/18 "2003-05-13T17:03:42Z")
That link again: [http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:rlOCwUIp2W0C:www.hsn.dk/rowan/info3-1.html+"mr+bean"+phut&hl=en&ie=UTF-8](http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:rlOCwUIp2W0C:www.hsn.dk/rowan/info3-1.html+%22mr+bean%22+phut&hl=en&ie=UTF-8) And another, that is still there: [http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/7474/tvmrbean.html](http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/7474/tvmrbean.html) Disclaimer: remember, we Brits are much funnier than Mr Bean would suggest. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/19 "2003-05-13T18:29:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*Ah ha. > > From the [www.hsn.dk/rowan/info3-1.html+%22mr+bean%22+phut&hl=en&ie=UTF-8](http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:rlOCwUIp2W0C:%5Burl)]Mr Bean episode guide (Site may have disappeared - link is to Google cache. > > So, the writers of Mr Bean decided it would be funny to call a place “Club Phut”. That was presumably on the wall in the episode you saw. \*\* No, that was the sign. I saw it scribbled on a wall in the episode in which he puts on swimming trunks over his trousers. Some googling tells me that it might be connected to Thai resorts. but I have no time to follow that up. And there is the theory that “Phut” might be shortened from HipHopHut". Dunno. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-phut/174417/20 "2003-05-13T18:35:32Z")
Hmm. “Club Phut” obviously = “Club Foot” (the deformity); who knows what the grafitti is all about.