Fanny Adams

English Etymology From Fanny Adams (1859–1867), a young girl brutally murdered and dismembered. Tins of mutton introduced in the British navy after her death were not liked by the sailors and were humorously said to be her butchered remains. Fanny Adams then came to mean any worthless thing, and, eventually, nothing at all ("sweet F A"). Coincidentally, the initials "FA" also fit the vulgar term fuck all, also meaning "nothing at all", leading to later perception of "Fanny Adams", or "FA", being a euphemism for the latter. Pronunciation en en-au-Fanny Adams.ogg AU Noun - en UK naval _ slang obsolete derogatory Tinned meat. en Harriet Lane en Naval Occasions, and Some Traits of the Sailor-man Bartimeus [pseudonym; Sir Lewis Ritchie] William Blackwood and Sons Edinburgh and London 1916 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/46730/pg46730-images.html The Engineer Lieutenant pushed his head inside his neighbour's cabin: “Come along—come along! You'll be late for dinner. Fresh grub to-night: no more ‘Russian Kromeskis’ and ‘Fanny Adams’!” en chiefly British Nothing (now largely perceived as euphemistic for fuck all). en Thesaurus:nothing Alternative forms en sweet Fanny Adams, en sweet FA, en SFA en eponyms