unix: Re: Meaning of foo and bar

Blair P. Houghton bph at buengc.BU.EDU
Fri Jun 23 04:10:24 AEST 1989


In article <408 at moegate.UUCP> soley at moegate.UUCP (Norman S. Soley) writes:
>In article <20061 at adm.BRL.MIL> pm4062ms at tecnet-clemson.arpa writes:
>>FUBAR --  F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition.
>>
>>I believe 'foo' and 'bar' simply are syllables from the last one.
>
>Foo long pre-dates FUBAR, which is WWII US army slang. It appeared
>frequently in comic strips (Pogo, Smokey Stover) and cartoons (Warner
>Brothers) in the 1930's as a nonsense or filler word. It's most likely
>it's current use was originated by a comic freak.
> 
>Is it time for a comp.what.is.foo? 

No.  It is time to politely inform all readers that this word is defined
in the frequently-asked-questions section of the monthly posting to
news.announce.newusers.  Therefore, there is no excuse for anyone to ask
for this definition.

				--Blair
				  "RTFM."



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