RTFM

jargon /R T F M/ Read The Fucking Manual (always

abbreviated, sometimes bowdlerised to "Fine" or "Friendly") An

(unhelpful) guru's traditional response when someone asks a

question in a newsgroup or mailing list which he could

have easily answered for himself had he bothered to RTFM.

The term may also be used to indicate that you couldn't find

the answer in the manual. E.g. "How do I interface Unix to my

toaster? And yes, I did RTFM but the FM didn't help and I

can't RTFS."

Other derived forms include RTFAQ, RTFB, RTM, and, more

recently, STFW. Compare: UTSL.

[Earliest use?]

[Jargon File]

(2003-06-07)