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Original poster

Is this a swear word?

58 replies

phi40 · 22/05/2012 09:52

Is fanny a swear word in the UK? I said to me kids yesterday, stop fannying around and get on with,...blah blah And they were HORRIFIED that I had said a swear word. Help! I have definitely said that phrase in the office in the past.

OP posts:
MaisyMooCow · 22/05/2012 09:53

I regard it as more slang than swear. Although it sounds better than telling someone to stop dicking around!

TroublesomeEx · 22/05/2012 09:54

Not swearing but not polite either.

I wouldn't say it in front of my children or want them to say it.

But then I'm a bit stuffy like that! Grin

squeakytoy · 22/05/2012 09:54

I would say it isnt, but it is borderline really... a bit in the same way that bugger and shite are not really Class A swear words...

TroublesomeEx · 22/05/2012 09:54

Definitely better than dicking, but not as good as messing. HTH!

lou2321 · 22/05/2012 09:54

I'd say fannying around but I wouldn't say 'fanny' as in vagina to my kids and I think its not really a slang word they should use really.

GobblersKnob · 22/05/2012 09:55

I say 'stop fannying around', so wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

Prefer 'stop cocking about' Grin But wouldn't use that in front of dc's.

lou2321 · 22/05/2012 09:56

Ah but fannying is not the same as messing, my definition of fannying around is when my friend is faffing and not actually getting ready when we are all waiting to hit the shops (or bars) Grin I would say messing is being silly, like kids doing daft things.

mumnosbest · 22/05/2012 09:57

Not quite swearing but agree with not wanting the dcs to use it. Ok in the office imo.
Shite is just posh way to say shit, so is swearing.

Original poster
phi40 · 22/05/2012 09:57

My kids are 12 and 14 so not babies - and the language they hear from their friends on their XBox is worse. I'm more concerned that i have said 'vagina' in the office unintentionally and everyone was too polite to say anything because i'm a foreigner!

OP posts:
bowieiman · 22/05/2012 09:58

In the context you said its fine. My dc came home the other day after learning a new swear word. Wouldn't tell me what is was as i hate swearing but did describe it as "when a crab claps". Any guesses?

fruitysummer · 22/05/2012 09:58

Nope, not a swear word in my book, but everyone is different.

for example my mum has a habit of saying frigging, which I think is really rude and just wrong but she (and my friends) are clearly at ease saying it and find it acceptable.

I have yet another friend who regularly uses the C word and I have problems even saying 'the c word'

jubilucket · 22/05/2012 09:59

The trouble is they're all watching far too much american telly where fanny means something rather different to what it means here. Bloody Friends.

lou2321 · 22/05/2012 10:02

when a crab claps? Am I being thick? What is it?

bowieiman · 22/05/2012 10:02

I love the fact they have fanny packs in America.

Original poster
phi40 · 22/05/2012 10:02

I hate the 'c' and when I was in couples therapy years & years ago, it came up as one of the issues because my DH used it. He's now stopped, but here's me going around saying 'fanny' to all and sundry. I thought it meant the same as lollygagging.

OP posts:
blackeyedsusan · 22/05/2012 10:05

lolly gagging? what the hell is that, now that does sound... ermm interesting and not in a good way...

squeakytoy · 22/05/2012 10:05

At 12 and 14 they are more likely to just be doing that fake shock thing that teens do when they hear their parents swear.. Grin

My dad never swore in front of women, other than damn/bloody/bugger, but according to my boyfriends who he met over the years, he swore like a trooper when no women were present.

I was about 30 the first time I heard my mum say "shit" and I was shocked!!

MaisyMooCow · 22/05/2012 10:06

Back in the early 90s, passing through American customs I was asked to hand over my fanny pack. I was Shock until I realised what they meant!!! I suppose it sounds just as bad calling it a Bum Bag.

squeakytoy · 22/05/2012 10:07

My stepson's language is terrible, but he does try to curb it in front of his daughter, unfortunately not well enough though..

At 3 she had an imaginary friend, as most children do... just most children dont normally give them the name Cunt Grin

monkeymoma · 22/05/2012 10:09

it is sort of, it means lady bits! but not as bad as what my otherwise non swearing mother says quite freely: "frigging around" - that means masterbating! Shock

Original poster
phi40 · 22/05/2012 10:09

blackeyedsusan lollygagging is a real word, I learnt it from some kids TV programme called 'house for imaginary friends' or something similar, where a cartoon rabbit was in charge of a house full of unwanted doodles (very cute and my 2 loved it) And the rabbit used to accuse the other characters of lollygagging if they didn't get on with their chores.

OP posts:
LadyBabsFlashesHerFanjo · 22/05/2012 10:10

I am also dim, what is it when a crab claps?

GateGipsy · 22/05/2012 10:11

In the US fanny is used to mean your bum, in the UK a fanny is a vagina.

After about the 1000th time of watching Cars I had to look up lolly gagging. It just means spending time aimlessly or dawdling. As it was in a kids movie I figured it didn't mean what first came to my mind, but even now that I know what it means I still couldn't use it!

MarySA · 22/05/2012 10:13

It would be an absolute no-no for me. But it all depends on what's acceptable where. Nothing to do with the actual word.

Hippymum89 · 22/05/2012 10:13

Fanny is a bit rude when talking about a lady's bits & bobs, however 'fannying around' is the same as faffing about IMO.

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