fucking Ada / Nora

[mmishsh]

Hi,

Does anyone know what "Fucking ada" might mean? It appears in the text of British play "History Boys". Seems like a general exclamation, however I am interested to know where it comes from.

Thank you.

 

[ch01_kelly]

Hi there.

There is a song by the late Ian Dury called "Fucking Ada". Let's wait for some native to give us some insight.
Take care.

 

[winklepicker]

Does anyone know what "Fucking ada" might mean? It appears in the text of British play "History Boys". Seems like a general exclamation, however I am interested to know where it comes from.

I'm not sure where it comes from (and Partridge is silent on the subject) but it's quite common in vulgar circles - normally with the 'g' dropped "F**kin' Ada!". Ada is a girl's name but I don't think that's material.

It could be a euphemism for f**king a**eholes - though why anyone would want to euphemise the latter instead of the former I can't imagine!

The meaning however is clear: 'Well, I am surprised!' or similar.

 

[mmishsh]

That was fast... Thank you

 

[matineeidol]

Yeah I have no idea why it's used, but it is. It's the same thing as f"****ing hell!"

Where I'm from in the UK we use "Nora" too! "F***ing Nora!"

 

[sameasitev]

I hope I can clear this up. It was in general use when I was a teenager growing up in the East End of London back in the fifties. It was generally pronounced as a sigh of despair, and it was taken to be a last response to someone doing something really stupid. Or it was as statement of utter disbelief when something went wrong.
A cleaner version would be "I don't believe it".

 

[Loob]

Thank you, sameasitev - welcome to the forums

 

[ewie]

I'm familiar with 'Ada' but (like MatineeIdol in post #5) prefer 'Nora'.

 

[sameasitev]

I agree, Ada and Nora were interchangeable. But it was probably down to location. The East End would use Ada, and the remainder of Southern England would use Nora. [Generalization].

 

[cuchuflete]

For what very little it may be worth, there is also an AE version of the exclamation (which I believe has been discussed in one or more threads here): Fuckin' A! I have no idea if the A comes from the BE Ada. In the 1960s I often heard it all shortened to "Kinay!" with strong emphasis on the final syllable. The meaning was the same as in BE.

 

[ewie]

The Cassell Dictionary of Slang (1999) has this to say on the subject:
Fucking Ada! excl. [20C] a general excl. (cf. FUCKING A!) [the Ada is either a nonsense word or a euphemism for the stronger alternative Fucking arseholes!. Fucking hell! is a softer version; in all these cases the fu may be deliberately abandoned: thus 'Kin' 'ell! etc.]
Fucking Nora! excl. [1980s+] ... [var. of FUCKING ADA!]
...
Fucking A! excl. [1970s+] ... [no etymology given]

Excuse all the 'language'.