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Glite Dictionary
🥫 Tinned meat 0️⃣ Nothing at all
Fanny Adams

Fanny Adams

9.9
A way to say you have nothing or very little
  • noun
  • /ˈfæn.i ˈæd.əmz/
  • Archaic
translation icon : nada
  • He worked for hours but ended up with Fanny Adams to show for it.

Examples

  • They promised us a bonus, but in the end we got Fanny Adams.

  • What did you get for your efforts? Fanny Adams!

  • I know Fanny Adams about cars, so I can't help you with that.

  • He offered me Fanny Adams in terms of help.

  • After working late into the night, he realized he had achieved Fanny Adams in terms of progress.

  • When they asked for the results of the project, I had to admit I had received Fanny Adams.

  • She expected a reward for her efforts, but all she got was Fanny Adams.

Synonyms

fuck all
vsFanny Adams
  • Offensive
15 9.9

A very small or no amount of something

is a less vulgar British informal phrase often used with a preceding word
bugger all
vsFanny Adams
  • NSFW
4 9.9

Very little or nothing

is the fixed British informal expression often used with an added introductory word
sweet fuck all
vsFanny Adams
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A very rude way to say you have nothing at all

is the milder British informal phrase often used without obscene language
sweet Fanny Adams
vsFanny Adams
  • Archaic
9.9

Nothing at all is left

is the shorter informal form often used without the fixed initial word

Surface Forms

Fanny Adams singular

Morphology

Fanny + Adams

The meaning 'nothing at all' is idiomatic and cannot be inferred from the literal proper names 'Fanny' and 'Adams', which give no semantic clue to the idiom. The expression is culturally and historically grounded (and often appears as 'sweet Fanny Adams'), so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not predict its meaning.

Etymology

Fanny Adams (often heard as sweet Fanny Adams) may come from a well-known sad news story about a girl with that name. People started using her name in a dark joke to mean 'nothing at all', and over time Fanny Adams came to mean 'nothing' or 'very little'.