Definition

1. Noun:
   • Little or nothing at all; something worthless or insignificant. This is the primary modern meaning, used to emphasize the complete absence or triviality of something. It is a euphemistic slang term.
   • (Historical, nautical) Tinned meat. This is an archaic, specific usage from naval slang, now largely obsolete.

Usage

• The term "fanny adams" is almost exclusively used in the informal, often slightly vulgar, idiom "sweet Fanny Adams" (or its variant "sweet F.A.") to mean "absolutely nothing" or "something worthless."
• It functions as a noun phrase, typically serving as the object of a verb or preposition.
• It is considered British and Commonwealth slang.

Examples

• Noun (meaning: nothing):
  • After all that work, I got sweet fanny adams.
  • He knows sweet Fanny Adams about football.
  • The information they provided was fanny adams.

Advanced Usage

• "Sweet Fanny Adams": The standard and most common form of the idiom. The addition of "sweet" intensifies the expression.
  • You'll get sweet Fanny Adams if you don't sign the contract.
• "Sweet F.A.": A common abbreviated and euphemistic written form, pronounced by saying the letters "F" and "A."
  • Their contribution to the project was sweet F.A.

Variants and Related Words

• Bugger all (noun, slang): A synonym with identical meaning and similar vulgar euphemistic origin, meaning "nothing at all."
  • I've had bugger all to do all day.
• Sweet F.A.: The abbreviated form of "sweet Fanny Adams."

Synonyms

• Nothing
• Nada (informal)
• Zilch (informal)
• Zero
• Naught

Notes on Different Meanings

• The original, historical nautical meaning referring to tinned meat is based on grim wordplay, alluding to a famous murder case. This meaning is virtually never used in contemporary English outside of historical or etymological discussion.
• In all modern usage, the term exclusively conveys the idea of "nothing" or "worthlessness." The transition in meaning likely stemmed from sailors' disdain for their poor-quality rations, equating them with "nothing."

Noun

1. nautical term for tinned meat
2. little or nothing at all
   • I asked for a raise and they gave me bugger-all
   • I know sweet Fanny Adams about surgery