Talk:fag

Why was Definition #4 removed?!

Somebody removed the "Harley" definition unilaterally without consulting talk first. The talk entry here seems to show majority support for leaving the definition there. Therefore, I am re-adding the definition. If you believe it should be removed, please establish a consensus here before taking it upon yourself to do so. 216.243.53.178 22:00, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Definition #4 is a misinterpretation

The definition as " A jerk, as in, Why did you do that you Fag?" is a misinterpretation, The person isn't calling the other person a Jerk They're calling them a Homosexual male in an offensive manner, Faggot is after all the Gay equivalent of Nigger.

But they're not really saying that the person is gay. It's just a general-purpose insult. Equinox ◑ 00:16, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

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Definition #4 is NOT a misinterpretation. While many people believe "Fag" connotates gay, there is a growing trend in the USA to believe that it is a general insult.

This trend is growing large acceptance in population as evidenced by [South Park]'s episode entitled, "The F Word" (originally aired on November 4th, 2009). In this episode, the town of South Park was plagued by annoying and loud Harley riders. In this episode they decree that Fag has no relationship to being gay, but instead another meaning:

Fag n. 1. An extremely annoying, inconsiderate person most commonly associated with Harley riders. 2. A person who owns or frequently rides a Harley.

This episode of South Park is perfect example of the definition of Fag actually is changing in modern usage and that it does in fact in many situations not have anything to do with homosexuality or being gay. instead it can mean someone who is inconsiderate or a "Douchebag".

Not everybody watches South Park, so some people wouldn't know this. Why is everything South Park does suddenly becoming a movement(the anti-ginger movement may have originate from one episode)? It's just an animated TV comedy. Seriously, it's been a slur towards us for decades, so it's not really going away. To us, it still means "homosexual man", in the worst possible way. Why do people always complain about their "sudden lack of free speech"? Meanwhile, if you say it to me or behind my back, I think you're going to attack or murder me. Even if that doesn't happen, some of us could suffer from psychological trauma. I think you need to re-think who's the bigger victim here. Also, you say it could mean "douchebag". Why don't you just use "douchebag"? SO many other words can be used in its place, like idiot, dork, @$$hole, etc. All those words can apply to anyone, instead of a select group of people. You don't have to limit yourself; go ahead and expand your vocabulary of cruelty. It's at least good for the brain. 24.113.57.157 06:22, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

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I don't know if this adds to the discussion or not, but a similar situation is in Finland where "gay" is becoming more and more associated with "lame" and "annoying" instead of homosexual.

People come out of the closet to people they trust, by telling them they're "gay". If one of you is a parent, and you have a son who comes out to you as gay, are you going to think back to the times you had calling stupid things "gay" and just subconsciously apply that to your child? So secretly your child is "lame" and "annoying"? I think this is going to cause more trouble down the road than it's worth. 24.113.57.157 06:22, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

Acronym

Could FAG also be used as an acronym for "Film Actors Guild"?24.188.127.35 06:15, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

No, that’s like Sam Houston Institute of Technology, ain’t no such place. The closest thing to it is AFTRA SAG, or just SAG (Screen Actors Guild). —Stephen 06:20, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Since it's doubtful that this derogatory word will go away any time soon - some have suggested that it's better use is that of an acronym standing for Female Affecting Gay. Clarifying the degree of overt / over the top female characteristics being displayed by a particular male individual. By giving the word / acronym a clear and referenced definition the derogatory element can be diffused.

-Turning acronyms into nouns is a modern occurance and this use of fag as homosexual probably goes back to the 19th Century, so as an entymology it doesn't hold water.

- English language, all languages, are constantly in a state of plasticity and change. So with reeducation and acceptance that F.A.G. stands for an affectation of female traits it will once again be acceptable to publicly express that an individual is indeed a F.A.G. without intentionally hurting anyones feelings.

- I would have to disagree with the entire premise of Political Correctness with regards to sections of society deciding what is acceptable and what is not. Taste, manners, good social skills, as well as social adjustment aside, when people use what are considered derogatory words they are simply expressing themselves in a condensed manner. It is a valuable, economical and revealing form of communication. With the utterance of just one word they have revealed volumes about themselves. This can be very useful to those that the word or words are directed towards. Shaming people into not using a word only buries the problem it does not change their views. By leaving the choice to the individual society now has true insight or a barometer showing progress or regression in general population towards certain held beliefs. Besides fag is such a great word.

Offensive

I was thinking that the listing didn't explain any new meaning of the word. It still means "homosexual" in that sense. It's like calling a male a "girl." —This unsigned comment was added by Mike Revolver (talk • contribs) 2006-08-15T22:18:43.

To get more feedback, you may want to add the term to WT:TR. Rod (A. Smith) 23:13, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Princess Margaret sucking fags.

The late Princess Margaret did smoke cigarettes. She loved sucking her fags. She was something of a fag hag. This is the original transpondential gay joke.

Combinatorial Usage

Particularly in the Internet, and even more particularly on the Chans, the word "fag" is used in combination with pretty much any word as a derogatory name for people associated with that word in some way. For example, a "namefag" is someone who uses a screen name as opposed to posting anonymously, a "newfag" is a newbie, a "furfag" is a furry, a "Christfag" is a Christian, a "Eurofag" or "Britfag" is someone from Europe or Britain, etc. There have also been "soapfags" who spammed with photos of a soap bar, and "Gaiafags" who were suspected to have found the site via Gaia Online. It seems they use the affix "-fag" to personify any concept.

It has also basically lost all connotations of actual homosexuality in this usage, and many would even (jocularly or otherwise) refer to themselves with such names.

Should we add this usage? It must be easy enough to find loads of examples of it in use, but it seems to be limited to online communities. Fyrius 15:25, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes,I agree that it would be helpful if this sense were defined here. I would also like to add that "-fag" may have evolved since Fyrius wrote his definition(or he simply wrote about the most common trend). "-fag" is used as a noun to indicate a person associated with the preceding thing. It can be used derogatorily or as an informal term of address ( much like nigger), especially in reference to the self. For example, a WoWfag is someone who plays World of Warcraft.

I am still not sure how to properly compose citations but I suppose I could make it my next project to make some for this term, since this is one that I am much more certain that it meets the criteria for inclusion.--Anthonzi 01:36, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

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I couldn't agree more - So it follows that it would be perfectly ok to say that the person that wrote the above example is Writerfag. And because he has proven with his examples that he is totally right he would be labeled a Totalfag. Makes sense to me !

Hey, don't look at me. I know, it's nonsensical, but I didn't come up with this. And as for the people who did, it's really not worth the bother to even point out they make no sense.

P.S. At the moment I'm being more of a Wiktionaryfag, but that's beside the point. - Fyrius 21:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Photovoltaic cell

Could someone with the power to edit locked pages change "pv cell" to "photovoltaic cell"? I had no idea what a "pv cell" was until I resorted to Google. Equinox 07:17, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

Done, Regards, --Williamsayers79 08:32, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Fag meaning servant

Is this use archaic? Ok, it may be discontinued but there were such fags in public schools in the 20th Century, so it still used in this sense. Archaic should probably refer to things about the Victorian times and before. The term "dated" would be better. -Paul W

I agree, "dated" is more accurate. Fagging may not occur anymore but people still know of the word and what it means. Also "fag" meaning a homosexual is not generally used in the UK. Mike 213.122.2.189 20:56, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Translation proposals

While the page is locked, we should not avoid adding new translations. Therefore I propose these two:

• Polish: pedał (pl) (vulgar), ciota (pl) (vulgar)

The latter means passive homosexualist in a vulgar way - I don't know for 100% whether it fits or not.

LGBT usage notes

These notes are very extensive to the point of rambling. I would like to see respectable sources cited. Equinox ◑ 23:50, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

I know little about LGBT, but anyway, I don't even think that sources would be an improvement. It is, as you said, rambling and that's not proper for a dictionary. The usage note should be abridged to half or less by someone capable. — This unsigned comment was added by 82.83.227.82 (talk).

I've hacked it down to about a third. I dropped the whole paragraph about "conspicuousness"; I don't think it's really specific to this term. People who are conspicuously anything (gay, black, Christian, communist, autistic...) are more likely to be referred to by terms that highlight that thing than "inconspicuous" people are. - -sche (discuss) 17:23, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Fag Etymology 3 Arabic

In Arabic, the words مخنوث (sl) and خول (sl) are used in a way akin to "fag" or "faggot". Chaimshalom (talk) 02:22, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

RFV discussion: May–June 2014

This entry has survived Wiktionary's verification process.

Please do not re-nominate for verification without comprehensive reasons for doing so.

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fag

RFV of the photovoltaic sense. Discussion from the Tea Room:

Our entry says fag can mean "a photovoltaic cell that is no longer in use". Does this mean "any individual photovoltaic cell which has been turned off or otherwise taken out of use"? Or does it mean "a kind of photovoltaic cell (now obsolete)"? - -sche (discuss) 08:13, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

Speaking as a fag myself, I'd say the first sense is right, but as I can't find any uses of fag in the relevant sense on b.g.c at all, maybe an RFV is in order. —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 09:48, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

- -sche (discuss) 19:55, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

RFV-failed. - -sche (discuss) 19:48, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Vietnamese translation

Could somebody who can edit add another Vietnamese term for 'homosexual' – 'bóng'? There already exists an entry on this word: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/b%C3%B3ng Pfftallofthemaretaken (talk) 16:11, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

"a person perceived as..."

I don't like this form of language. Compare something like "idiot": if I call someone an idiot, I am not saying "you are a person perceived as stupid!". I'm saying "you are a stupid person". Whether I'm right is not part of the definition but part of the usage. Equinox ◑ 23:47, 27 December 2016 (UTC)

Fair point. I've simplified the definition. Better now? --Florian Blaschke (talk) 17:59, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

Fix Vietnamese translation

Currently the Vietnamese translation listed is pê đê which has no page instead of pê-đê. Could someone fix this?

fag verb (U.S. ) "exhaust through work" vs fagged (U.K). "exhausted"

For the Microsoft® Encarta® 2009 the verb is characteristic of American English, and the adjective is British. Can anybody confirm? --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:24, 24 August 2019 (UTC)

could the article hyphenate fag-end?

clicking the link to "fag end" makes you click another link to "fag-end". 98.7.201.234 02:34, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Fag as “used”, “weak”, “the worst” - etymology

Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/faihaz ?

• 1788, editor William Perry, The Royal standard English dictionary: "Fag, s. the worst part or end of anything.“

etc.? Zezen (talk) 12:38, 23 August 2021 (UTC)

Australia

In Australia, "fag" doesn't mean a cigarette, it means a gay person (but more commonly lengthened to "faggot"). Please fix. 149.167.173.216 14:48, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Someone (who I think is Australian) once told me that 'fag' cannot be used in this sense any more in Australia, due to the prevalence of the slur. However, that is only one person, and not representative of the entire nation. Adam9007 (talk) 04:49, 4 July 2023 (UTC)