NAFFÜ

intransitive verb (Youth Culture) A slang word used euphemistically to avoid saying 'fuck'; usually in the phrase naff off: go away, 'eff off'. Also as an intensifier or empty filler, in the adjectival form naffing. Etymology: The origin of this word is uncertain; it may be an example of back-slang, reversing the sounds in fan (a long-established shortened form of fanny). Alternatively it could be connected in some way with the wartime NAAFI: Keith Waterhouse, who was the first to use it in print (in Billy Liar, 1959), points out that naffing was a general-purpose expletive in the RAF during the Second World War. History and Usage: Although first used in 1959, naff really became popularized by the BBC television series Porridge from the mid seventies onwards. When, in 1982, Princess Anne told persistent press photographers to 'naff off', it acquired an unexpected respectability; this was reinforced by its association in some people's minds with the (in fact unrelated) adjective in the entry above. A new phrasal verb naff about (to make a fool of oneself) arose from this confusion. 'It's all been arranged, it's all set up, right? So naff off', I said. Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais Porridge (1975), p. 63 Stealing your tin of naffing pineapple chunks? Not even my favourite fruit. Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais Another Stretch of Porridge (1976), p. 16 'Salute'...does not mean naffing about in a tutu. Suzanne Lowry Young Fogey Handbook (1985), p. 30