Fred

proper noun

1. 1

   A short version of Frederick, Alfred, or Wilfred, also used as a formal male given name.

   When I referred to the confusion which would result from the presence in the house of two people with the same name, she tossed her head and said it would be easy to obviate that by calling me Frederick instead of Fred. […] Imagine Harry Bolles and other kindred spirits calling me stiff, august Frederick! I vowed that this should not be brought to pass […]

   I had great parents, but they made one major mistake. They named me Fred. I'm sorry in case other Freds read this, but Fred is a rather weak name. It just sort of fades away on the tongue. It's not positive like Matt or Jim or Mike or Luke.

   Zachary Block chats with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen about their new show, Portlandia, which airs on IFC, Fridays at 10:30.

2. 2

   slangThe Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, a military transport aircraft widely used by USAF aircrews.

noun

1. 1

   slangA novice cyclist.

   Here we have several World Championships every week. There is 'Hill Worlds', and then some other ones. What happens a lot of time^([sic]) is that only a few people who race show up, and you can have your way with the majority of Freds who do the ride (Hill Worlds is fun because people can't wheelsuck).

   They called them 'Freds', a pejorative term that implied they were middle-aged and dowdy, and sniped that their only talent was staying awake for long periods. After it had been running for a couple of years, one of Jock's friends challenged him to put the Freds in their place. Jock, his competitive spirit pricked, agreed.

Forms

plural

Freds