What "F Around And Find Out" ("FAFO"; "Eff Around And Find Out") REALLY Means & Speculation About When & How That Saying Became Viral Online

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update- October 10, 2024

This pancocojams post presents a definition, information, and examples of the saying "F--k* Around And Found Out" (also given as "FAFO" and "Eff around and find out").

This post also includes speculation about when & how that saying became viral online.

The content of this post is presented for linguistic, historical, and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 
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*Throughout this pancocojams post I substitute two dashes in place of the letters in the curse word "f--k". These substitutions in these quotes are indicated by an asterisk after that word.

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DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF THE SAYING "F AROUND AND FOUND OUT" (FAFO)
From https://www.wikihow.com/Fafo-Meaning
"What Does the Slang Term “FAFO” Mean? (Plus How to Use It)

Learn more about this provocative social media term

Co-authored by Mason Martinez, BA

Last Updated: March 18, 2024 Fact Checked

Meaning |Usage |Origin & Spread |Related Slang Terms

Have you ever encountered a meme or a fail video and seen “FAFO!” written in the comments? “FAFO” is an informal way of expressing a warning or response to something ill-advised. In this guide, we’ll teach you what the acronym means and how it’s gained traction on popular social media platforms.

FAFO” Meaning

The acronym “FAFO” stands for “F--k* Around and Find Out.” It’s an informal way of warning someone not to mess with you or something bad will happen. It’s the equivalent of saying, “If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.”

What does “FAFO” mean?

[…]

“FAFO” is short-hand for “F**k Around and Find Out.”

People on social media use FAFO to warn others not to mess with them. It's also used as a response to videos or situations where someone does something careless and then suffers the consequences.[1]

The phrase is the equivalent of the age-old saying, “If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.”

Use “FAFO” as a warning sign.

Has someone ever tried to get you heated? Or, in other words, tried to push your buttons? A direct way to tell someone not to mess with you is by saying,
“F--k* Around and Find Out.” It warns the other person that you'll react if they continue to “test” you.[2]

[…]

Write “FAFO” on a caption for a TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram reel.

The term is often seen on popular social media sites to respond to someone else’s behavior.[3]X

For instance, have you ever seen someone wind up in a situation you know won't end well? Imagine a body-builder type of guy messes with a petite guy at a bar, and suddenly, it’s the smaller guy who takes him down—that’s the perfect scenario to use, “FAFO!”

The phrase can be used in nearly any scenario to respond to someone else’s bizarre or disrespectful behavior.”…

[…]

Origin & Spread of FAFO

The phrase originated in 2007 as African American slang.

Originally, FAFO was commonly used in the African American community in its full form rather than as an acronym.[4] However, the phrase died out in the mid-2000s before finding its resurrection in 2022.

[…]

“FAFO” became a highly searched word in 2022 after Elon Musk tweeted it.

After a series of controversial tweets by Kanye West regarding his relationship with Elon Musk, the CEO of X, posted a simple, “FAFO” tweet after suspending the rapper’s account. Users quickly scrambled to understand the phrase—and the drama between the two.[5]

[…]

The phrase blew up on TikTok in 2022 after a “FAFO” chart went viral.

A TikTok user, Roger Skaer, posted a short TikTok demonstrating how much someone has to “f--k* around” to “find out” on a mathematical chart. In just two days, the video gained 3.9 million views.[6]*

[…]

The term grew in popularity to express frustration towards politics.

Before the 2020 presidential election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, online leftists and sympathizers of the Democratic party took to social media platforms like Reddit, X (Twitter), and TikTok to create memes about the political landscape at the time.[7]

A common example was using “FAFO’” to refer to Michael Bloomberg’s run as the Democrat candidate, who eventually pulled out in favor of Joe Biden.[8]

[…]

“FAFO” is used as a slogan by the Proud Boys.

The Proud Boys are a far-right political organization created in 2016. They’re known for promoting white nationalism, misogyny, and other hateful beliefs.[9] Unfortunately, “FAFO” has been adopted by them in an attempt to appear tough and threatening.[10]”…
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Read the comments directly below that indicate that the saying "F--k Around and Find Out" is much older than the 2007 date that is given in thiswikihow.com article. 

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EXCERPT #2
[Pancocojams Editor: These are selected comments from this reddit.com discussion thread. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.]
 
From https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/15w9udc/any_particular_reason_why_fuck_around_and_find/
"r/NoStupidQuestions
1. Every3Years, 2023
"Any particular reason why "f--k* around and find out" is suddenly popular?

Not just that phrase, but wordplay using that phrase is all over the place. I don't use social media (I go to old.reddit.com to use reddit, it's message board to me) and I haven't heard quite as much of it in the real world. But in every sub on Reddit there's always comments about f--king* around and finding out. Or getting to the find out phase, or utilizing a flashlight to find a f--k* with in the dark, or catching a case of FAFO, or a million other variations.

Did something or somebody famous use the phrase recently and now everybody is saying it?

It reminds me of when "legit" became the go-to term in my 20s. I'm a few weeks away from 40 and
"F--k* Around and Find Out" has always been something people have said. But recently it is THE thing to comment, enough to make me take notice and eventually ask this question.

**
2. Slide-Impressive, 2023
“Honestly f--k* around and find out is old.”

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3. DependentDangerous28, 2023
“It is, i remember it being used in my childhood by adults and im 47.”

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4. Comfortable_Key_6904, 2023
“Same. I'm 45, and I remember this this from when I was a kid. It was mainly centered around fighting, but people have found a lot more uses for it today.”

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5. Waiting4The3nd, 2023
"I'm 41 and was raised in and around the Atlanta area, and "F--k* Around and Find Out" was used somewhat interchangeably with "Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes" (or some variation thereof)

It didn't seem to be aimed any more specifically at fighting than anything else, at least in my area. Although for a long time our version of FAFO was a bit longer, the full saying we had was: "[They are/(S)He is] about to f--k* around and find out the hard way."

**
6. Sidewalk_Tomato, 2023
"That's actually really interesting. I've only heard the phrase in the last 5 years.

 Maybe it's regional."

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7. DependentDangerous28, 2023
"Im from Northern Ireland its been about for years and years."

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8. KindAwareness3073, 2023
"You recently found out about FAFO. It's been around for decades."

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9. Jurtaani, 2023
"There's nothing implying that OP just found out about it. They are saying it has suddenly became popular. And it has. I don't remember hearing it as much as I have heard it this year probably ever."

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10.DudeEngineer, 2023
"For a long time AAVE developed mostly separately from mainstream american English, but it has been crossing over more since the 90s and it's really taken off with Gen Z.

There is no debate about if white people should use the N word, they should FAFO if they desire."
-snip-AAVE= African American Vernacular English

**
11. GreenTravelBadger, 2023
"You reap what you sow. Chickens always come home to roost. Actions have consequences. F--k* around and find out is just another way of saying what's always been said."

**
12. LittleCupcake01, 2023
"Source:

 https://youtu.be/22rCPuPh1Gw
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YouTube video title: "The FA Axis Will get Rocked", published by rogerskaer, oct. 10, 2022

**
13. GamerGirl_9, 2023
"Yes I am shocked this hasn’t been mentioned more. Ever since this video, the term skyrocketed. Not saying it wasn’t around before, it was. But this video went viral and got in front of everyone’s eyes, so whether they’d heard or used it before, they are using it now"

**
14. LittleCupcake01, 2023
"Yaas, same. I scrolled way too far without anyone mentioning it. It existed before but even since that video it skyrocketed. Dunno if its because of tiktok or what tho."

**
15. Cerulean_IsFancyBlue, 2023
"I don’t think this 10 month old video explains how something has been popular for a couple of years now.

“How I learned about X” isn’t the same as how X got popular in the first place."

**
16. BhristopherL, 2023
"Yep, this video is what propelled the phrase into the average Gen Zs vernacular"

**
17.Upstairs_Equipment95, 2023
"I can’t even get through the first 30 seconds of this video, y’all watched the entire thing?"

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18, Anonmouse119, 2023
"Ah yes, the completely fictional scenario he just made up off the top of his head. He’s very quick on his feet. I too enjoy his entirely fabricated situation involving notorious actor Bill Pith and comedian Chris Granite."

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19. [deleted], 2023
"It's just a word-meme which is sweeping through our consciousness. It sounds kind of clever, so it gets endlessly repeated by non-clever people. It'll eventually sweep through and mostly disappear except for die-hards who continue to cling to it."

**
20. PvtSherlockObvious, 2023
"For an example of this, we can just look at how completely it supplanted "play stupid games, win stupid prizes," an earlier expression that meant effectively the same thing."

**
21. Billypillgrim, 2023
"Well for one thing, a lot of people have, in actuality been f--king* around a lot lately. And many of them are, in fact, starting to find out."

**
22. loopygargoyle6392, 2023
"The only people that I recall using it with any appreciable frequency would be MAGAs, up to and surrounding the events of J6. Since then it's been pretty heavily and ironically used against them, since unbeknownst to them, they were actually the ones FA-ing and have since FO-ed."

**
23. mexchiwa, 2023
"It was a proud boys motto. I have no idea why they’re downvoting you - you’re right.

The phrase has been around a long time, but the PB we’re using it on J6"

**
24. Fantastic_Sea_853, 2023
"The phrase was made popular by Trump, who has made a point of doing just that on a daily basis"

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25. Every3Years, OP (Original Poster) 2023
"News regarding that human anal wart is definitely how I first starting noticing this. He did indeed fuck around, in between rounds of golf and normalizing unnecessary lies, but i really dont think hes going to receive anything substantial in terms of finding out.

But yeah this phrase has definitely been mentioned by half of Reddit whenever another indictment is handed out, which led me to realizing that it's all over the place!

Maybe the fact that phones and recording life are so common nowadays, catching people on the act of f--king* around has also widened the possibility of more finding out. 🤔"

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A FEW ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF THIS SAYING

(Sources are numbered for referencing purposes only)

1.https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fuck%20Around%20And%20Find%20Out
"F--k* Around and Find Out

A warning given when someone is acting foolishly and about to face consequences, commonly used in the setting of a bar or street fight.

Ex. 1: When a person is provoked they might respond to the aggressor with "F--k* Around and Find Out."

Ex. 2: "Kind of a bummer to have been born at the very end of the F--k* Around century just to live the rest of my life in the Find Out century." - Twitter User @Merman_Melville"
by responsible_falcon February 16, 2022

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2.  https://www.wikihow.com/Fafo-Meaning "What Does the Slang Term “FAFO” Mean? (Plus How to Use It), 2024 [This article is given as Excerpt #1 in this pancocojams post. 

 “I already told you to leave me alone. Keep this up, you’re gonna FAFO!”

“I totally forgot to study for the test this afternoon. Guess I’m gonna FAFO!”

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3. @carolb.6350, October 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbhS6OGy7a8
"Some of these American people are going to eff around and find out. I'm going to vote blue, I'm going to help to save America's democracy!

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4. @4lizlemon, October 9, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwQYztm--dM
"LMOA is this a joke, you think you are gonna get up and get a mountain Ebike in a cat 5 hurricane . you are delusional. good luck   you are seriously under estimating mother nature but go on and FAFO"

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5. @SpaceForceCommander, October 10, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2WRlu5Lg_Y
"Trump is effing around, and he's going to find out (because Judge Chutkan doesn't play games)."

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