The F-Word (56 page)

c
. an impressive or outstanding thing; humdinger.

1977
National Lampoon
(Aug.) 33: Have I got a motherfucker of a stunt for you!
1981
C. M. Brown in
Black Scholar
(Sept./Oct.) 8/2: They got some skies in Africa that are a motherfucker, man!
2001
Village Voice
(May 22) 124/1: The Berkeley quartet opened its set jamming and vamping… From then on it was a motherfucker; nothing like the current wave of junior Black Sabbaths and Blue Cheers trudging through the low end.

3
. (used as an indefinite standard of comparison).

1962
in D. Wepman et al.
The Life
(1976) 139: I just come back.… Mad as a motherfucker.
1962
V. Riccio & B. Slocum
All the Way Down
149: Something new has been added…the letters LAMF under a personal name or a gang name.… It means “Like A Mother Fucker,” and it’s supposed to suggest to all who read it that the person or the gang…is rough and tough and hell-bent for war or what may come.
1966–67
P. Thomas
Down These Mean Streets
160: He went limper’n a motherfucker.
1973
J. E. Wideman
Lynchers
39: It be dark as a muthafucka.
1975
S.P. Smith
American Boys
100: LaMont was [running] like fifty motherfuckers.
1976
R. Telander
Heaven is Playground
(1995) 170: Who wants to go
to college?.… Where’s the talent? A strong finish. I’m losing my voice. The phone never stops ringing, coaches, high schools, prep schools, colleges. I’m closing like a motherfucker!’
1990
E. W. Rukuza
West Coast Turnaround
39: It was raining like six motherfuckers.
1991
J. Singleton
Boyz N the Hood
(film): This fool got more comics than a motherfucker.

In phrases:

beans and motherfuckers
,
Military
. a C-ration portion of lima beans and ham.

1980
M. Baker
Nam
11: I’m not going to say he had cold beans and motherfuckers for breakfast.
Ibid.
320: Beans and motherfuckers—C-ration delicacy composed of lima beans and ham.
1990
G.R. Clark
Words of Vietnam War
52:
Beans-and-Motherfuckers
(Ham and Lima Beans).
1991
L. Reinberg
In the Field
:
Beans and motherfuckers
, slang for unpopular C-ration lima beans and ham.
2004
C. Burke
Camp All-American
111: Soldiers in Vietnam complained about the food they were served: the “beans and baby dicks” (beans and franks), the “beans and motherfuckers” (lima beans and ham).
2004
L. Reardon
Mercy Killers
86: He eats that nasty beans and motherfuckers like it’s steak and eggs.

bends and motherfuckers
,
Military
. calisthenic squats and thrusts.

1980
M. Baker
Nam
39 [refers to
ca
1970]: You look like shit, so we’re going to do a little PT now. Bends and motherfuckers. Many, many, many of them.
Ibid.
320: Bends and motherfuckers: the squat-thrust exercise.
1990
G.R. Clark
Words of Vietnam War
55:
Bends-and-Motherfuckers…
squat-thrust exercises.
ca
2000
J. DiFusco et al.
Tracers
(rev. ed) 56: Bends and motherfuckers—cadence count—one hundred repetitions. Ready. Exercise.
(The five begin doing squat thrusts, counting off.)

ham and motherfuckers
,
Military
. a C-ration portion of canned ham and lima beans.

1973
McA. Layne
How Audie Murphy Died in Vietnam
(unpaged): Packaged into the 1942 C-ration case.… Ham & little muther fahckers,/Affectionately called,/Ham/&/Mutha’s.
1980
J. DiFusco et al.
Tracers
41 [refers to Vietnam War]: I haven’t got anything left except some
ham and motherfuckers, man.
1982
E. Leonard
Cat Chaser
76: Ham and lima beans: ham and motherfuckers.
1987
“J. Hawkins”
Tunnel Warriors
332 [refers to Vietnam War]:
Ham & Motherfuckers
. C-rations serving of ham and lima beans.
1988
M. Clodfelter
Mad Minutes
258 [refers to 1966]: Cans of “ham and mother fuckers” (ham and lima beans).
a
1989
C.S. Crawford
Four Deuces
107 [refers to Korean War]: Ham and lima beans… was considered to be one of the good rations even though we called them “ham and motherfuckers.”
1990
E. M. Helms
Proud Bastards
125: I think I’ve got a sudden craving for ham and motherfuckers.
2008
J. C. McManus
7th Infanry Regiment
70: Ham and lima beans (always referred to as “ham and motherfuckers”).

motherfucker
interjection

(used to express astonishment, anger, etc.).

1968
Nation
(Dec. 2) 595: I said how come you din’ sing the National Anthem?…Motherfucker!…You a bunch of jive motherfuckers.
1974
L.D. Miller
Valiant
21 [refers to WWII]: Mudderfucker!… I’m hit!
1985
D. Bodey
F.N.G.
144: Muthafucker,
can this be?
1988
J. Norst
Colors
x. 138: But the pain only incensed Hightop, rejuvenated his awesome wired strength. Motherfucker! Motherfucker!
2008
J. Picoult
Change of Heart
56: Calloway sank down to the floor of his cell, cradling the dead bird. “Motherfucker. Mother
fucker
.”

motherfucking
interjection & infix

(used for emphasis). [The 1962–63 quotation is euphemistic.]

1962–63
K. Kesey
Sometimes a Great Notion
7: How do you expect
any-motherkilling-one
to know Hank Stamper’s reasons?
1967
G. Ragni & J. Rado
Hair
154: Yeah! Emanci-motherfuckin’-pator of the slave.
1977
E. Torres
Q & A
54: Motherfuckin’-A right.
1987
J. Ferrandino
Firefight
124: Just hats up and dismotherfuckinappears.
1999
D. Century
Street Kingdom
ii. 77: I’m gettin’ ready to go up north my-muthafuckin’-self!

motherfucking
adjective & adverb

1.
goddamned;
FUCKING
.

1889
Texas Court of Appeals Report
(1890) XXVIII 206: According to Sumner, he spoke of defendant as “that God damned lying, thieving son-of-a-bitch”;…and according to McKinney, as “that God damned mother-f—cking, bastardly son-of-a-bitch!”
1898
Texas Criminal Reports
XXXVII 22: You are instructed, that if prior to the shooting of deceased by defendant, the deceased called the defendant a “mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch,” and the defendant…shot and killed the deceased, then you are instructed, in such a case, the defendant could not be guilty of a higher offense than manslaughter, if guilty of anything.
1933
J. O’Hara
Appointment in Samarra
154: Why, you small-time chiseling bastard, you. You dirty mother—bastard. [
1933
J. Conroy
Disinherited
30: Scab! Scab! O,you bloody mother-killin’bastards! O,you lowdown sons of bitches!]
1936
M. Levin
Old Bunch
122: Listen, you mother-f—little runt, if you don’t—.
1948
N. Mailer
Naked & Dead
12: Of all the mother-fuggin luck, that sonofabitch takes it all.
Ibid.
400: That’s the mother-fuggin’ truth. [
1948
W. Manone & P. Vandervoort
Trumpet on the Wing
131: If I hurt your beat-out feelings, I beg your mother-robbin’ pardon.]
1951
J. Jones
Face of War
62: Mother fuggin’ bastards.
1951
J. Kerouac
Visions of Cody
119: I read every WORD of that motherfuckin thing.
1953–55
MacK. Kantor
Andersonville
524: Mother-fucking old Yankee mudsills. [
1957
T.H. White
Mountain Road
21: The next guy doesn’t know a mother-frigging thing about it.]
1958
T. Berger
Crazy in Berlin
168 [refers to WWII]: A Southerner or a Negro, passing on the sidewalk out front, described to a mute companion a succession of events that were invariably
mothafuhn
.
1961
in C. Himes
Black on Black
69: I’ll cut your motherfucking throat.
1961
G. Forbes
Goodbye to Some
128 [refers to WWII]: You ain’t home with you mother-fuckin’ mother! [
1963–64
K. Kesey
Sometimes a Great Notion
7: The whole motherkilling agreement.]
1965
S. Linakis
In Spring the War Ended
75: He’s a mother-fuckin’ liar.
1962–65
R. Giallombardo
Society of Women
49: She said…“I’m not showing you a mother—’ thing.”
1965
C. Brown
Manchild in the Promised Land
140: I’m gon bust your mother-fuckin’ ass.
1966–67
P. Thomas
Down These Mean Streets
129: They don’t come no motherfuckin’ better.
1967
W. Crawford
Gresham’s War
161: You motherhunching son of a hounddog whore.
1967
W. Stevens
Gunner
231: It was that motherfucking
Ploesti
that reached up and tore his ass apart.
1964–69
in S. Calt
Rather Be Devil
57 [refers to
ca
1919]: The guys…wouldn’t say: “Pass me such and such a thing, if they wanted a big pan of meat or biscuits or rice.… They said, “Let such-and-such a thing
walk
up that motherfuckin’ table.”
1970
J. Neary
Julian Bond: Black Rebel
174: Mayor Richard J. Daley yelled “Get that motherfucking Jew out of here!” at United States Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut.
1977
T. Jones
Incredible Voyage
284: But you tell that mother-fucking chief, Manco Quispe, I want a clan meeting right now.
1986
P. Welsh
Tales Out of School
64: [The pupils] lapse into street dialect, saying “be” for “are,” “mines” for “mine” and of course the ubiquitous adjective “mother-f—.”
1989
S. Robinson & D. Ritz
Smokey
42: This is my motherfucking house and I’m gonna live here and no one’s gonna stop me.
1993
New Yorker
(Feb. 8) 35: Motherfucking cockroach.
1993
J. Mowry
Six out Seven
ii. i. 272: It cause of what Bates say to you! That…that bullshit! That cock-suckin motherfuckin liar!