foo
nounnouninterjectionnounattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//fuː//
A metasyntactic variable used to represent an unspecified entity. If part of a series of such entities, it is often the first in the series, and followed immediately by bar.
noun
- 1
Variant of fuhistoricalAlternative form of fu: an administrative subdivision of imperial China; the capital of such divisions.
Etymology
From Mandarin 府 (fǔ).
noun
- 1
A metasyntactic variable used to represent an unspecified entity. If part of a series of such entities, it is often the first in the series, and followed immediately by bar.
Suppose we have two objects, foo and bar.
- 2
Variant of FooslangAlternative letter-case form of Foo (“placeholder god”).
Etymology
From Chinese 福 (fú, “fortunate; prosperity, good luck”), via its use as 福星 (Fúxīng, “Jupiter”) in Chinese statues of the Three Lucky Stars, picked up from c. 1935 as a nonsense word in Bill Holman's Smokey Stover comic strip, whence it was picked up by Pogo, Looney Tunes, and others. Used by Jack Speer as the name of a mock god of mimeography in the 1930s. Popularized in computing contexts by the Tech Model Railroad Club's 1959 Dictionary of the TMRC Language, which incorporated it into a parody of the Buddhist chant om mani padme hum, possibly under the influence of WWII military slang FUBAR, which had been repopularized by Joseph Heller's Catch-22.
interjection
- 1
Expression of disappointment or disgust.
Oh foo – the cake burnt!
Etymology
A minced form of fuck.
noun
- 1
Variant of foolslangPronunciation spelling of fool.
[page 10:] "I knew you'd be scared," Reggie laughed. "What are you doin', foo? You must be crazy. You don't scare me." "Then why did you almost fall out of that chair? I scare everyone." [page 38:] "This is coo," said Fred. "It's almost like being there." "We are there, foo!" said Reggie as the boys slapped palms.
Forms
- plural
- foos
foo · A metasyntactic variable used to represent an unspecified entity. If part of a series of such entities, it is often the first in the series, and…
Foo · A mock deity of early science fiction fandom; a fannish ghod.food · Any solid substance that can be consumed by living organisms,…fool · A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.