The F-Word

by Jesse Sheidlower

  fuck beggar noun

  an old man with whom only a female beggar is willing to copulate.

  1785 F. Grose Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: F—k Beggar… An old superannuated fumbler, whom none but beggars will suffer to kiss them.

  fuck book noun

  see under FUCK, adjective.

  fuck box noun

  the vagina or vulva.

  1976 J. Vasco Three-Hole Girl 158: She felt it building in her fuck box as she watched Tad’s swollen purple dong head. 1998 A Swinger’s Story, on Usenet newsgroup alt.sex.swingers (Oct. 24): Peggy reached down and grabbed her fuck box with one hand and her breast with the other. a2002 Letters to Penthouse XV 60: He unloaded his sperm inside her sloppy fuck-box.

  fuckboy noun

  a catamite; (hence) a man who is victimized.

  [1954 F.I. Gwaltney Heaven & Hell 233 [refers to WWII]: Grimes loves the army and the army’s using him for a screw-boy.] 1971 J. Blake Joint 67 [refers to 1954]: They were known as pussyboys, galboys, fuck-boys, and all had taken girls’ names like Betty, Fifi, Dotty, etc., and were universally referred to as “she” and “her.” 1974 R. Carter 16th Round 76: A goddamned faggot, a fuckboy. 1973–76 J. Allen Assault 124: One or two slip through who aren’t so obvious. There’s a lot of them we call undercover fuck boys. 1980 G. G. Liddy Will (1996) 393: [In prison] A “fuck boy” or “punk” for homosexual gratification. 1994 in Esquire (Jan. 1995) 91: [In prison] Once you’ve become somebody’s fuck-boy, you stay a fuck-boy, and your new “man” will use you any way he wants. 1996 T. Parker Violence of our Lives i. 44: He looked me in the eye and he said “Do you mind that idea son, do you want to be somebody’s fuckboy?” 2007 C. Eshleman in American Poetry Review (Mar./Apr.) 26/1: The “Victorious Cupid,” a naked fuck-boy with wings, offering himself joyously to the viewer. 2008 “50 Cent” & D. R. Pledger Diamond District 148: You ain’t nothing but that white cop’s little fuck boy! Whose side are you on, nigga?

  fuckbrain noun

  = FUCKHEAD. Hence fuckbrained, adjective.

  1970 T. Whitmore Memphis-Nam-Sweden 35: Not at all like the lazy fuckbrain before him. a1981 R. Spears Slang & Euphemism 149: Fuck-brained. stupid. 1986 N. Jimenez River’s Edge (film): You pot-head fuckbrain! 1987 J. Kellerman Over the Edge 373: I asked you a question, fuckbrain. 1991 J. Keenan Putting on Ritz xx. 215: Well, go ahead, fuck-brain! See if I care! 1994 New Statesman (Dec. 16) S1: You fuckbrained little parasite. 2000 J. Klein Running Mate 79: If those fuck-brained college kids can march in the streets and get what they want, think of the leverage we’d have. 2006 New York Magazine (Apr. 3) 20/1: Magazine editors gripe about the rings they have to jump through to book the hottest possible celebrities (“The PR people,” one complained to me, “are really such fucking fuckbrains”).

  fuckbreak noun

  an interruption in an activity taken in order to engage in sexual intercourse.

  1973 W. Rostler Contemporary Erotic Cinema 158: There was Jim, who screwed for money all day, took a fuck break during the shooting when he was off camera, and balled this chick. 1994 Personal letter to editor: You know the term fuckbreak? It’s when you take time away from work to try to get pregnant. 2001 C. Miéville Perdido Street Station 134: Your mates are very understanding about you just up and taking a fuck-break, aren’t they? 2008 M. Henry Happy Hour of the Damned 234: The swing shift crew only had another ninety-seven hours until half-shift fuckbreak.

  fuck-buddy noun

  Especially Homosexuals. a sexual partner; (specifically) a friend with whom one engages in casual sex.

  [1972 B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 184: Fucking buddies two who are not lovers cruising together for threesomes, etc.] 1973 A. S. Jackson Gentleman Pimp 71: We ran into an old fuck buddy of mine. 1983 in E. White Burning Library 150: Even the word lover is too rude for all the gradations of commitment and intimacy; one friend uses an ascending scale of Trick, Number, Fuck Buddy, Lover, and Husband. 1992 in Gay Perspectives 161: Andrew has a few friends with whom he has sex, but this is no “fuck buddy” circle. 1995 “Pansy Division” Fuck Buddy [rock song]: Fuck buddy.… /Someday I’ll find a guy/Who means something more/But that’s not what/This relationship is for. 1995 R. Athey in Village Voice (N.Y.C.) (Feb. 14) 32: I try role-playing and maintaining a fuck-buddy relationship with my butch stud Cuban daddy. 1996 Guardian (London) (Mar. 26) T6: Young lesbians…know themselves and they will announce that they are father, mother, butch, femme, fuck-buddy, boy, girl, top, bottom or any mixture that they choose. 1996 SF Weekly (Nov. 13): Paul Ramana Das Silbet, not his wife/fuck-buddy Marilena, seems to be the real brains…behind this operation. 1997 Village Voice (N.Y.C.) (Apr. 22) 123: Fuck buddies—friends who fuck—usually don’t date prior to becoming fuck buddies. 2000 M. Albo Hornito 224: We are simply “fuck buddies” to each other. Casual casual casual. 2005 E. Morrison Last Book You Read 125: He doesnae need a girlfriend. I canna go through this again with anyone. We’re fuck buddies—that’s all.

  fuck button noun

  the clitoris.

  [1968 R. H. Rimmer Proposition Thirty-One 220: Or were we both just mechanical robots on whom someone had pushed the fuck button?] 1969 “Joey V.” Portrait of Joey: Case Study of a Super Stud 85: There were times when I could make her come just from the feel of my lips tugging on that little fuck-button of hers. 1994 Strawberry Blonde ff teen on Usenet newsgroup alt.sex.stories (Apr. 25): My finger was grinding down against her fuck button and the heat was rising down between her legs as her slot began to moisten. 2007 R. L. Duncan Lost in Venice 267: “I just touched your little fuck button.” “Oh Johnny it felt so good.”

  fucked adjective

  1. Chiefly British. completely exhausted.

  1949 E. Partridge Dictionary of Slang & Unconventional English (ed. 3) (Addenda) 1054/2: F*cked, adj. Extremely weary; (utterly) exhausted; late C. 19-20. 1977 H. Garner Monkey Grip 216: I only want to crash, right now. I’m absolutely fucked. 1987 G. Matthews Little Red Rooster xiii. 201: It’s…time for sleep.… I’m totally fucked. 1996 C. J. Stone Fierce Dancing ix. 132: We’ve hitched from the West Country. We’ve just walked about twenty miles and we’re fucked. Can you come and pick us up? 2005 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) (Aug. 28), We were all completely fucked, we’d been out in Liverpool the night before.

  2. exceedingly bad or offensive; rotten; awful; ruined; FUCKED UP, adjective, definition 1; (also) doomed, in a difficult situation.

  1949 W. S. Graham Letter (Mar. 7) in Nightfisherman (1999) 87: My nose fucked, my jersey steeping in its navyblue water, the fire a ruin of paling embers. 1960 P. Larkin Letter (Aug. 8) in A. Thwaite Selected Letters (1992) 318: On getting back to Hessle he found the shutter had been set at Time exposure which means that the whole lot were fucked. 1971 L. Bangs in Psychotic Reactions (1987) 86: Some cat… made a really fucked album. 1975 S.P. Smith American Boys 58: Morgan [was] yelling at the top of his lungs about how fucked everything was while Padgett…egged him on. 1976 A. Schroeder Shaking It Rough 121: I mean, like, the last stanza’s completely fucked, man! 1978 A. Maupin Tales of the City 92: Your karma is really fucked! 1980 P. Conroy Lords of Discipline 311: We’re living in fucked times. 1985 J. Dillinger Adrenaline 115: “Want to know something fucked?”… “How fucked?” “We’re outa gas.” 1985 O’Bannon Return of Living Dead (film): first, I got a really fucked headache; then my stomach started cramping up. 1990 P. Munro Slang U. 85: Fucked… unfair. 1991 J. Barth Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor 144: The page whispered. “We’re fucked.” 1986–91 B. Hamper Rivethead 161: Squeezing rivets is fucked! 1997 Nunez Ulee’s Gold (film): Everyone’s life you’ve ever touched is fucked. You know that, Ulee? 2007 Poets & Writers (Mar./Apr.) 48: When I found out I didn’t get the job, I thought, “I am so fucked!” I had no clue what I was going to do.

  3. intoxicated by alcohol or drugs; = FUCKED UP, definition 2a.

  1970 E. E. Landy Underground Dictionary 84: Fucked…under the influence of a drug. 1972 D. E. Smith & G. R. Gay Don’t Try It 202: Fucked up. High
on heroin (sometimes other drugs): “He was so fucked up he couldn’t even drive a car.”…Also fucked around, fucked over, and just plain fucked. a1973 in D. W. Maurer Language of the Underworld 301: Fucked or fucked up. Stoned. 1976 L. Bangs in Psychotic Reactions (1987) 195: When you first arise you’re probably so fucked (i.e. still drunk) that it doesn’t even really hurt yet. 1990 P. Munro Slang U. 85: Fucked…drunk…under the influence of drugs. 2000 G. Marinovich & J. Silva Bang-Bang Club (2001) xii. 191: My heart sank, thinking Kev must be fucked on buttons, and I mentally ran through a list of possible excuses. 2005 N. Barham Dis/Connected 137: At Homelands I got fucked and I came up and it was just fantastic and Sam was like, “I’ll just have a tiny bit,” and I was like, yes, sure; a tiny bit of these pills will still knock your head off.

  4. lacking in sanity or good sense; crazy. Also fucked in the head.

  1970 E. E. Landy Underground Dictionary 84: Fucked… messed up; confused. 1971 P. Theroux in Atlantic (Nov.) 45/1: I used to think you Asians knew where it was at…and now I been all over Asia and, like, now I can see you’re all fucked in the head. 1975 L. Bangs in Psychotic Reactions (1987) 180: You’re allll [sic] fucked.… I can do anything I want. 1978 B. Johnson What’s Happenin’ 64: “He don’t care what he says as long as people notice him.” “He’s fucked, man.” Ibid. 167: You guys are fucked. You don’t even know what you talkin’ about. 1981 C. Nelson Picked Bullets Up 31: Babich looked at me through jaundiced eyes. “Kurt, you’re fucked.” 1985 B.E. Ellis Less than Zero 100: Girls are fucked. Especially this girl. 1990 National Lampoon (Apr.) 97: They’re fucked in the head. 1995 R. Lurie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 77: “Are you fucked!” she screamed at Aubrey over the phone. “How could you give up that much money to anybody without a contract?” 2003 A. Swofford Jarhead 39: He was not a crazed, fucked-in-the-head grunt.

  fucked duck noun

  Military. a person doomed to die; “dead duck.”

  1939 A. C. Bessie Men in Battle 133: If France don’t come in now, we’re fucked ducks. Mucho malo.… Mucho fuckin’ malo. 1968 J. P. Spradley Owe Yourself a Drunk 30: I had twenty-three bucks when booked. Now they tell me I’ve got $3.30. I guess I’m a fucked duck—I’ve got twenty days hanging. 1999 A. W. Newton & W. Eldridge Better than Good: Black Sailor’s War 1943–1945 106: If one of those guys, especially the big boatswain, took a swing at me, I would be a fucked duck before Packard could get back. 2006 P. Jennings Nam-A-Rama 154: You saved our ass on this one. We’d a been a fucked duck if you hadn’t stayed on that horn all day.

  fucked off adjective

  angry; irritated; “pissed off.” [The sense in the 1923 quotation, from a French–English dictionary of slang, is not clear.]

  1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 131: Fucked off, foutu(e). 1940–45 in M. Page Kiss Me Goodnight (1975) 80: Because I’m fucked off, fucked off, fucked off as can be.… Fucked off lads are we. 1971 H. Dahlskog Dictionary of Contemporary & Colloquial Usage 25: Fucked off…Angry; irritated; tee’d off. 1973 N.Y. college student: Fucked off means the same as pissed off. 1974 Social worker, age 26: I’ve heard a few people say, “He was really fucked off,” when they meant “pissed off.” This was in the past couple of years. 1997 Scotland on Sunday (Apr. 6) 7: Paul is deeply fucked-off with a certain type of Welsh nationalist…attitude. 1998 SF Weekly (Jan. 7): Hatred, revenge, and violation are…strangely heartbreaking and entirely convincing. Clearly, Reid Paley has every right to be fucked off with the world. 2003 R. Herring Talking Cock 126: An ex-girlfriend walked in—she was a bit fucked off as we hadn’t had sex in a while and took it as a sign that I was losing interest in her.

  fucked out adjective

  exhausted from excessive copulation; (hence) utterly exhausted; worn out.

  1862 O. A. Hammer Letter (Dec.) in T. P. Lowry Story Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell (1994) iii. 37: I together with several other officers went over to Petersburg, got drunk and f—ked out. We staid two days and nights, you ought to have seen me going to bed with a gal. 1865 “Philocomus” Love Feast iv. 29: However tired and jaded,/Fucked out, used up, fatigued and faded,/He still would find a spur should stir/My lusts as nimbly as before. ca1866 Romance of Lust 443: Poor Mr. Nixon was evidently fucked out. 1879 Harlequin Prince Cherrytop 29: Changed from the gorgeous king to a buffoon,/Be weak-kneed, cunt-struck, fucked-out Pantaloon. 1884 Randiana 71: The inward and spiritual grace so necessary to please the ladies is now almost dormant in my fucked-out nature. 1934 H. Miller Tropic of Cancer 225: It is…the dry, fucked-out aspect of things which makes this crazy civilization look like a crater. 1942 H. Miller Roofs of Paris 259: She’s as drunk as we’re fucked out. 1945 E. Hemingway in Selected Letters (1981) 605: Suffer like a bastard when don’t write, or just before, and feel empty and fucked out afterwards. 1950 in A. C. Inman Diary 1480: I guess…Billy was just plain fucked out, the way he looked. 1966 J. Susann Valley of Dolls 121: And what should an ingenue look like? A fucked-out redhead with big tits. 1969 M. Girodias New Olympia Reader 91: By Christ, you tired old bag, you’re asleep. Fucked out. 1973 R. Roth Sand in Wind 239: The ones he had seen didn’t have the fucked-out eyes of American prostitutes, and so many other American women. 1975 R.P. Davis Pilot 144: They called her the “fuckedout, boozy bitch” or the “FOBB.” 1977 J. Sayles Union Dues 144: It’s a Monday, they’re all fucked-out from the weekend. 1978 National Lampoon (Oct.) 26: Gertrude was so fucked out that she never wanted to do it with anyone again. 1981 W. T. Hathaway World of Hurt 162: Must’ve got so fucked out in two days, you had to come back to rest up. 1994 “Gary Indiana” Rent Boy 25: A great-looking dude who’s so fucked out he needs a half-hour blow job just to get semi-hard. 1995 M. Amis Information 466: And he spent the night in the master bedroom, and might even have made love to her, tenderly, tearfully, absolvingly, if he hadn’t been feeling so fucked out—and worried about getting her pregnant. 2003 B. Trapido Frankie & Stankie x. 241: She’s got a big untidy mouth and she walks, unselfconsciously, with a slightly knock-kneed gait. This, together with her hint of hollow thighs, has given Maddie a sexy, fucked-out look which, oddly enough, she manages to combine with the manner of the girl-next-door.

  fucked over adjective

  1. messed up, broken, ruined, victimized; = FUCKED, definition 4.

  1969 Progressive Labor (Aug.) 28/2: Never really trying to reach the people, building coffeehouse after coffeehouse, striking pose after pose, the struggle becomes an attempt to blow up a balloon of our own new world. The balloon is to grow and grow as more take on our groovy life styles and strike our pose and finally the whole fucked-over goddamn dumb society will shrivel beside it and die. 1978 W. Wharton Birdy 197: You know,… this is really a fucked-over situation. 1983 S. King Christine 257: You look like a sleepwalker. You look absolutely fucked over. 1995 G. Burn Fullalove (2004) vii. 175: The toe-rags; the twisters; the fucked-up; the fucked-over; the shat-upon; the shitters; the benefit-dependent; the multiply-deprived. 2000 W. Self How Dead Live viii. 196: But at the time I’d forgotten all the weary weepfests of Families Anonymous I’d attended—along with other fucked-up mums and fucked-over spouses—to try and get a handle on Natasha’s limitless capacity for destroying herself and others.

  2. extremely intoxicated by drugs or alcohol; = FUCKED UP, definition 2a.

  1972 D. E. Smith & G. R. Gay Don’t Try It 202: Fucked up. High on heroin (sometimes other drugs): “He was so fucked up he couldn’t even drive a car.”…Also fucked around, fucked over, and just plain fucked. 1973 College student: Fucked over can mean very, very drunk. Like I’ve heard guys say, “I was fucked over last night. Man, I wasn’t worth a dime.” 1979 College student paper: [Drunk:] queezy, fucked over, stewed, zonked.

  fucked up adjective

  1. Especially Military. ruined or spoiled, especially through incompetence or stupidity; botched; chaotic; in difficulty; (broadly) messed up. Also (especially Military) in fanciful similes.

  1863 Record of the General Courts Martial & Courts of Inquiry of the U.S. Navy (U.S. National Archives) CVI. (Case 3401, No
v. 18) 3: He stepped to the front of his tent…, and in a loud voice said, “What the bloody hell is wanted now, this is a fucked up Company anyhow, and always has been since the Guard came on shore.” 1939 A. C. Bessie Men in Battle 133: The detail’s all fucked-up. 1942 in M. Morriss & R. Day South Pacific Diary (1996) 44: The trouble with the Army is it isn’t fucked up enough—somebody is always trying to go ’em one better. 1943 in H. Samuelson Love, War 200: You’ve never seen such a fucked-up mess in your life. 1954–60 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dictionary of American Slang: Fucked-up…in trouble. 1961 G. Forbes Goodbye to Some 173: Their balance is all fucked up too.… They can’t stay right side up. 1962 G. Ross Last Campaign 36: I never heard of such a fucked-up mess. Ibid. 293: The boxes are busted open, see. And the [machine gun] belts are all fucked up with snow. 1963 T. Doulis Path for our Valor 108: Man, there ain’t ever been such a fucked-up operation! 1964 H. Rhodes Chosen Few 118 [refers to ca1950: It don’t make sense t’get fucked up on a humble. 1972 D. Pearce Pier Head Jump 49: They’re as fucked up as a Mongolian fire and lifeboat drill. 1972–76 C. Durden No Bugles, No Drums 1: Right off I knew things were gonna be fucked up as a picnic in a free-fire zone. 1976 P. Atlee Last Domino Contract 53: My company has a reputation for quality, but we’ve been fucked up here like Hogan’s goat. 1987 Kent Phrase Book 156: As fucked up as a Chinese fire drill. 1997 U.S. student slang survey: More fucked up than a soup sandwich in a rainstorm…extremely unusual. 2003 “S. Pax” Weblog Diary (May 22) in Baghdad Blog 178: The exchange rate is totally fucked up and the property market is getting bizarre.