Crosswords1 min ago
Nicknames
36 Answers
Another post on here reminded me of a nickname I used to have. My Grandad used to call me Fanny Adams until 2 male cousins found out and on hearing the word Fanny, almost wet themselves with excitement. Poor old Grandad never called me that again.
My most common nickname is Bucket. What's yours?
My most common nickname is Bucket. What's yours?
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Mate of mine is called E-Y though his real name is Tim.....he is American and last of 7 - apparently he would sit in front of the box watching Disney....and as the kids went M-I-C-K-E-Y, all he could manage was the last two letters and this has stuck as his name from the family - and into his life at large.
An ex work colleague has the surname Hyatt - his old man came across as a Dutch airforce pilot in the 2nd world war, but he was Van Der Hyatt. The name was changed by deed poll to Hyatt after he and his brother got nickname flack from school announcements "V.D. Hyatt".......
An ex work colleague has the surname Hyatt - his old man came across as a Dutch airforce pilot in the 2nd world war, but he was Van Der Hyatt. The name was changed by deed poll to Hyatt after he and his brother got nickname flack from school announcements "V.D. Hyatt".......
I quote (though I did know that Fanny Adams originated from Alton, having lived near there).
The eight-year-old Fanny Adams was murdered in Alton, England in August 1867 by Frederick Baker, a 24-year-old solicitor's clerk. Her dismembered body was found in a field near the town. She was buried in Alton cemetery. The inscription on the headstone indicates the strength of feeling against the murderer:
Sacred to the memory of Fanny Adams aged 8 years and 4 months who was cruelly murdered August 24th, 1867.
Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to kill both body and soul in hell. Matthew 10:28.
This stone was erected by voluntary subscription."
The case was the source of enormous public concern and newspaper reports of the time concentrated on the youth and innocence of the victim. Everyone living in England at the time would have known the name of 'sweet' Fanny Adams. With typical grisly humour, sailors in the British Royal Navy came to use the expression to refer to unpleasant meat rations they were often served - likening them to the dead girl's remains. Barrère and Leland recorded this usage in their A dictionary of slang, jargon and cant, 1889:
"Fanny Adams (naval), tinned mutton."
It wasn't until later that 'sweet Fanny Adams' came to mean 'nothing'. The term 'fu-k all' has long been with us with that meaning, although how long isn't clear as politeness caused it not to be recorded in print until the 20th century. It surely dates back to at least the early 19th century. The coincidence of Fanny Adams' initials caused F.A. or 'Fanny Adams' to be used as a euphemism for 'fu-k all'. Walter Downing, an Australian soldier who fought in Europe in the First World War, wrote an glossary of WWI soldier's slang called Digger Dialects in 1919. He is the first to record the link between F.A. (meaning
The eight-year-old Fanny Adams was murdered in Alton, England in August 1867 by Frederick Baker, a 24-year-old solicitor's clerk. Her dismembered body was found in a field near the town. She was buried in Alton cemetery. The inscription on the headstone indicates the strength of feeling against the murderer:
Sacred to the memory of Fanny Adams aged 8 years and 4 months who was cruelly murdered August 24th, 1867.
Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to kill both body and soul in hell. Matthew 10:28.
This stone was erected by voluntary subscription."
The case was the source of enormous public concern and newspaper reports of the time concentrated on the youth and innocence of the victim. Everyone living in England at the time would have known the name of 'sweet' Fanny Adams. With typical grisly humour, sailors in the British Royal Navy came to use the expression to refer to unpleasant meat rations they were often served - likening them to the dead girl's remains. Barrère and Leland recorded this usage in their A dictionary of slang, jargon and cant, 1889:
"Fanny Adams (naval), tinned mutton."
It wasn't until later that 'sweet Fanny Adams' came to mean 'nothing'. The term 'fu-k all' has long been with us with that meaning, although how long isn't clear as politeness caused it not to be recorded in print until the 20th century. It surely dates back to at least the early 19th century. The coincidence of Fanny Adams' initials caused F.A. or 'Fanny Adams' to be used as a euphemism for 'fu-k all'. Walter Downing, an Australian soldier who fought in Europe in the First World War, wrote an glossary of WWI soldier's slang called Digger Dialects in 1919. He is the first to record the link between F.A. (meaning
Damn boss came into the office as soon as I posted this so I had to get on with some work. Some of these nicknames have made me laugh so much.
DT - thanks for the explanation of where Fanny Adams is from. I always thought Grandad was a lovely chap, not sure why he would chose to call me such a derogitary name or after a murdered child.
And no, thankfully Fanny Adams and Bucket are not linked. I've always had Bucket as I used to have one of those bibs with a bucket on the end, in which I would poor all my food and eat it from there so I became Bucket. I still get called it all the time or variations of it like Katy Buck of Bucky and I respond to it as if it were my actual name.
DT - thanks for the explanation of where Fanny Adams is from. I always thought Grandad was a lovely chap, not sure why he would chose to call me such a derogitary name or after a murdered child.
And no, thankfully Fanny Adams and Bucket are not linked. I've always had Bucket as I used to have one of those bibs with a bucket on the end, in which I would poor all my food and eat it from there so I became Bucket. I still get called it all the time or variations of it like Katy Buck of Bucky and I respond to it as if it were my actual name.
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