FAFO
abbreviation
an expression of warning or schadenfreude
What does FAFO mean?
FAFO stands for “F*** Around, Find Out” (or more politely “Fool Around, Find Out”). As it is overwhelmingly found in written use, there is no agreement yet on whether it should be pronounced as an acronym (FAFF-oh), or if it is an initialism, and therefore each one of its letters is fully pronounced.
Examples of FAFO
Since a lot of them voted for the dude screwing them over do not expect empathy from me. FAFO.
—@denisonscience, Blue Sky, 14 Feb. 2025
The National Weather Service is part of those cuts as it is part of NOAA. I recently read one meteorologist describe the cuts as not cutting fat or waste in the agency, but cutting bone. “These cuts will make it harder to keep your family safe when skies turn threatening. Hype? Wait for it. This isn’t efficiency. It’s insanity. A potentially deadly edition of FAFO.” That's what Paul Douglas, a Minnesota-based meteorologist recently posted on X (formerly Twitter).
—Throwback: The iconic scene [from Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing] when Sal’s pizzeria got rekt after he FAFO’d
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Where does FAFO come from?
Usage of this abbreviation originated in African American English and has since become widespread.
How is FAFO used?
FAFO is used as an adjective (“a FAFO moment”), a verb, a noun, and interjection, and as a hashtag.
FAFO stands for "Fool Around and Find Out" (sort of. Adjust the spelling of that first word, and you’ll have it). … If you tell a child to put on his jacket before going outside, but he doesn’t want to, what do you do? Force him to wear it? Reward him for putting it on? Bend down and explain why mummy knows best? FAFO parenting says: “Fine, don’t put it on, but you’ll freeze.” Then let him freeze. Eventually, he’ll swallow his pride and come back to get his jacket.
—Patterson said the workers threatened and intimidated the driver of the truck, saying workers said “they would slash the truck” if it left the site with the equipment on Monday. He said that a police report has been filed and that the company is receiving email threats warning them “FAFO,” a term that means “f---around and find out.”
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