[Ads-l] fuck you very much (1974)

[Jesse Sheidlower]

There is in fact a 1978 example from Armistead Maupin in HDAS, under _fuck_ v. sense 3.a. And I did elevate this into a separate subentry in _The F-Word_, but the earliest example I could find was from Terence McNally, a1976, so this is an antedating, thank you!

_fuck you very much_ s.v. _fuck_ v., (used as a sarcastic or blatantly insincere expression of undeserved thanks).

a1976 T. McNally _Ritz & Other Plays_ 159: Fuck you, ducky, fuck you very much. Nice place you got here. [etc.]

Jesse Sheidlower

On Sun, Aug 11, 2019 at 06:36:45PM -0700, Barretts Mail wrote:
> I don’t see this in the HDAS, published in 1994, or the OED.
> 
> Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuck_you_very_much <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuck_you_very_much>) says the expression is a blend of “fuck you” and “thank you very much” and labels it vulgar. AFAIK, this is usually jocular.
> 
> The earliest entry in the UD (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fuck%20you%20very%20much <https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fuck%20you%20very%20much>) is 2005. Two UD definitions give a negative connotation and one an ironical one. One definition claims it originated in “The FCC Song”.
> 
> Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuck_you_very_much <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuck_you_very_much>) gives the “FCC Song” from 2004. The Wikipedia entry on Divine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_(performer) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_(performer)>), however, cites Bernard Jay’s book “Not Simply Divine” (1993, https://tinyurl.com/yy7wnrdz <https://tinyurl.com/yy7wnrdz>), which has the expression as used by Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead).
> 
> The earliest citation I find is a master’s thesis:
> 
> https://tinyurl.com/y44rxzme <https://tinyurl.com/y44rxzme>
> The Folk Speech of United States Air Force Transport Pilots 
> 1974 (https://www.worldcat.org/title/folk-speech-of-united-states-air-force-transport-pilots/oclc/29421517 <https://www.worldcat.org/title/folk-speech-of-united-states-air-force-transport-pilots/oclc/29421517>)
> Suzanne G Kenagy
> 
> Other citations earlier than Jay’s 1993 work are the "National Lampoon" (1982, but probably wrong, https://tinyurl.com/y4rao7kt <https://tinyurl.com/y4rao7kt>), "Native speech” by Eric Overmyer (revised 1986, https://tinyurl.com/y6pugqjv <https://tinyurl.com/y6pugqjv>) and “Mother Jones” (April 1984, https://tinyurl.com/y5jjh86f <https://tinyurl.com/y5jjh86f>).
> 
> Benjamin Barrett (he/him/his)
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> 
> 
> 
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