Talk:fuck 12

Is there any reason to believe it originates from "ACAB"? If so, wouldn't it be "Fuck 13"? In my own research, the most common etymology I can find is Atlanta hip-hop. As far as I can tell, there's nothing connecting it to "ACAB", how can I propose to change it? 23.252.48.12 22:27, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

Seems like people are associating it with "anything", let me add this which I think makes the most sense. The saying "It's better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six" refers to 12 jurors or six pall bearers. You get caught doing something illegal by the police, you get sent through the criminal system. Police then to the courts, so "12" is the "Law". — This unsigned comment was added by 96.241.38.147 (talk) at 10:27, 1 June 2020 (UTC).

The 12 is the narcotics police, it’s from that (though now it’s directed to the police in general) ACAB is not related — This unsigned comment was added by 81.102.129.128 (talk) at 12:23, 2 June 2020 (UTC).

If it is from ACAB, it might just be that we went with the second element because in general compounds are head-final, so it "feels better" even though it's illogical. I agree this is not the most likely etymology however. —Soap— 20:32, 4 November 2022 (UTC)

Alternative etymologies.

Searching the Internet there seem to be at least three additional theories for this. But all four seem speculative. So far we have: - From ACAB (all cops are bad). But then fuck-12 would mean “fuck are bad”. Wouldn’t it be “Fuck-13” then? (“Fuck all cops“ / Fuck AC)

- From Adam-12 (old TV show). But I’m doubting that this old show is popular with contemporary rappers?

- 12 person jury. Umm, that’s only a weak link to the police.

- From Unit 12 - supposedly the drugs unit (&/or their call sign?) in Atlanta.

This last one looks the most likely. Several sites seem to think that the fuck 12 was popularized Atlanta and also that it relates mainly to a drugs unit and only by extension to the entire PD. If anyone can verify that there really was a unit 12 in Atlanta that would help.

Just to give credit: @Jessica on https://definedictionarymeaning.com/topic/38629/fuck-12/9 Wikiwisc (talk) 04:48, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

A recent discussion in r/etymology received comment from an Atlanta local, who explains how it was explained to them as from the county name having twelve letters and how there's a difference between donut dunkin city police and drug investigating state police (source), but that's not quotable by our standards.

The jury theory is also mentioned, which makes it the most frequently mentioned in my view, and thus likely the correct one. Derivation from the aphorism mentioned above is also convincing. Perhaps it needed a folk etymology to be popularized in the drug context, in which case it's maybe folk or scene but not unetymologic to implicate 'the drug unit'.

The idiom "judge, jury and executioner in one person" shows that the difference is not difficult to bridge, especially if impending verdict is dead certain, and death by law enforcement is staggering (which might count as suicide though). 109.41.0.10 09:22, 14 June 2020 (UTC)

The Atlanta local's comment doesn't seem to align with the Migos lyrics, which namecheck Gwinnett County (not Fulton or Dekalb County). The first recoreded uses of the phrase that I've been able is the song on Migos's YRN mixtape, which was released on SoundCloud June 13, 2013. On October 17, 2013, Gucci Maine and Rich Homie Quan (both of whom have collaborated with Migos) released an EP "Trust God Fuck 12". Of course all those rappers are Atlanta-area folk, so that it comes from either a local 10 code or unit designation is logical. I haven't seen anything where someone associated with Migos breaks down the origin though. Tcr25 (talk) 18:21, 24 June 2020 (UTC)

Curfew meaning

Removing

1. (slang, vulgar, derogatory) Fuck the 12 o'clock curfew, an anti-police slogan protesting police curfews imposed during the George Floyd protests.

There are instances in the media during protests following the murder of George Floyd, but they seem to trace back to instances where the reporter on the scene made an assumption that "12" referred to a midnight curfew. This contemporanious tweet, for example, notes the misunderstanding. It's also worth noting that in many places curfews were set at 10 or 11 pm, not midnight. —Tcr25 (talk) 12:43, 11 October 2023 (UTC)