Green’s Dictionary of Slang

fart v.

[cognate with various words in Teutonic and Indo-Germanic languages, e.g. Skrt pard, MHG verzen, ON freta, Lith. pérdzu, Rus. perdet]

1. to break wind; also in fig. use, to expel.

[UK]Chaucer Miller’s Tale line 3337: He was somdel squaymous Of farting.
[UK]Jacke Juggler Diii: If you beat me tyll I fart and shyt againe you shall not cause me for any payne.
[UK]Misogonus in Farmer (1906) I iv: Tell me, by the mass! or I’ll make thee to fart.
[Scot]A. Montgomerie Invectiues Capitane Allexander Montgomeree and Pollvart in Parkinson (Poems) (2000) II line 3: Thou flyttis and thou freittis, thou fartis and thou flingis.
[UK]‘Misdiaboles’ Ulysses upon Ajax 58: You look like a sturdy hostler that could gird a mare till she f—t again?
[UK]J. Withals Dictionarie in Eng. and Latine 288: To fart, pedo [...] Hee that doth fart when as he will, When fart he would not, farts his fill.
[UK]Davies of Hereford Scourge of Folly 220: All night she sleepes, she snores, she farts, past care.
[UK]Beaumont & Fletcher Beggar’s Bush III i: Ere a man could fart twice, I had made him a hog.
[UK]Fletcher Night-Walker II i: Tis the Devill [...] Sure he farts fire.
[UK]Urquhart (trans.) Gargantua and Pantagruel (1927) I Bk II 307: The holy Pope to everyone gave liberty to fart at his own ease.
[UK]R. L’Estrange Fables of Abstemius (1692) CCCVI 276: I’ll Fart with That Puppy for his Commission, and leave it to Judgement [...] which has the Clearer, and the Better Scented Pipe of the Two.
[UK]Rochester ‘Signior Dildo’ in Works (1999) 252: Tom Killigrew’s Wife, the fine Flowre of Dort, / At the sight of this Signior did Belch, Fart, and Snort.
[UK]Fumblers-Hall 7: Sir Nicolas Frible: Every night she farts in her sleep, which [...] is most hateful to me.
[UK] ‘Worcestershire Ballad’ in Ebsworth Bagford Ballads (1878) II 999: He Farts and he Flusters, / He Belches and Blusters.
[Ire]‘Teague’ Teagueland Jests I 34: I cannot lie wid dy nasty Sharvants [...] dey do fart and stink.
[UK] ‘On a Fart in the Parliament-House’ in Playford Pills to Purge Melancholy I 346: Quoth Sir Henry Poole ’twas an audacious trick / To Fart in the Face of the Body Politick.
[UK]N. Ward Hudibras Redivivus I:4 9: Three Tuns, that very lately started, / A huge white Horse that never farted. [Ibid.] 2 III 9: Drums ratling, Lott’ry-Trumpets farting.
[UK]Benefit of Farting 10: As for the Lawfulness of Farting, none I hope will dispute the point.
Thoughts upon Reading the Lady’s Dressing-Room and the Gentleman’s Study 7: I find all the Knowledge we have by what’s writ Is, that both Male and Female, sweat stink, fart, and sh-t.
[Scot]Robertson of Struan ‘Letter from St--n to Lord James Murray’ Poems (1752) 285: Whereat he storm’d, he star’d, he stamp’d, / He farted and he slang, Sir.
[US]A. Hamilton Tuesday Club Bk XIII in Micklus (1995) 309: Though it bears a human Shape, / Has not the Judgement of an ape, / For soon as it has op’d its Eyes, / It eats, speaks, Grumbles, farts and dies.
[Ire]‘The Rakes of Stony Batter’ in A. Carpenter Verse in Eng. in 18C Ireland (1998) 339: He gently laid her down, and he pull’d out his scarper, / He play’d her such a tune, which made her fart and caper.
[UK]Nancy Dawson’s Jests 8: A country squire [...] pull’d down his breeches and farted.
[UK]Bridges Burlesque Homer (3rd edn) 94: [He] In a passion hobbl’d on, / And farted all the way he run.
[Ire] ‘The Coughing Old Man’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 3: Like a hog in a sty he does grunt and puff, / A wheezing and harking both sneezing and farting.
[UK] ‘The Rakes of Stony Batter’ in Holloway & Black I (1975) 224: He play’d her such a tune, which made her fart and caper.
[Ire]Spirit of Irish Wit 9: The landlord, a pickled dog, said his wife had p—d, f—d, broke the pot, cut her a— , wetted the carpet, roared [...] all at the same moment.
[UK] ‘Peas, Beans, & Cabbages’ Knowing Chaunter 10: But since the young bitch / Has won the first heat, / I’ll challenge her out to f--t.
[UK]Swell’s Night Guide 68: They are the rankest narks vot ever God put guts into, or ever farted in a kickses case.
[UK]Peeping Tom (London) 18 70/3: One takes a hug, and buss at parting, / Another stretching, falls a f—ting.
[UK] ‘I Dreamt Last Night As I Lay On My Bed’ Rambler’s Flash Songster 36: I dreamt last night as I lay on my bed, / That I saw an old lecherous codger, / Who scarcely hear himself fart at my head, / And he said that he wanted a roger.
[US] in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 138: There was a young man of Bhogat, / The cheeks of whose ass were so fat / That they had to be parted / Whenever he farted, / And propped wide apart when he shat.
[UK]‘Walter’ My Secret Life (1966) II 352: You’re frightened of farting.
[UK]T.S. Eliot ‘Columbo & Bolo’ Inventions of the March Hare in Ricks (1996) 317: Columbo showed his disrespect / By farting in a barrel.
[US] in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 155: Do you fart when you pee?
[US]H. Roth Call It Sleep (1977) 149: He’s as squeamish as a newly-minted nun. One is not even permitted to fart when he’s around!
[US]D. Vining A Gay Diary (1996) 5 May 473: He thinks farting is funny.
[US]W. Burroughs Naked Lunch (1968) 62: Lest the unfortunate patient be reduced to fart and shit in his teeth.
[UK]T. Keyes All Night Stand 63: I just have it in for Germans because they belch and fart and roar with laughter.
[US]D. Goines Dopefiend (1991) 186: Dave got excited and started to fart loudly.
[UK]S. Berkoff East in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 71: The cars farting families in VWs and Fords.
[Oth]D. Marechera House of Hunger (2013) [ebook] Peter, as is usual when something indistinct disgusts him, farted long and loudly.
[US]G.V. Higgins Patriot Game (1985) 207: That stuff makes you all fulla gas [...] Probably fart polka dot tomorrow.
[US]C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 125: The engine farted an odious cloud of blue smoke.
[Aus]R.G. Barrett Between the Devlin 14: ‘Snoring and farting your head off’.
[UK](con. 1953) C. Logue Prince Charming 149: Said the Nabob of Trincomalee: / ‘Young man, do you fart when you pee?’.
[UK]Indep. on Sun. 9 Jan. 28: Women find themselves belching, farting and scratching their bellies.
[UK]G. Iles Turning Angel 342: No woman is a goddess. They shit and fart just like we do.
[UK]Times Review 30 Apr. 11/4: Conor ‘farted hugely as he stood in the bathroom to pee’.
[UK]A. Wheatle Crongton Knights 112: ‘And no farting, McKay.’ [...] ‘I don’t roll into people’s castles and bust farts’.
[Aus]G. Gilmore Class Act [ebook] ‘I can’t fart without half of Montie knowing about it’.
T. Pluck ‘Hula Hula Boys’ in What Pluckery Is This? (28 Jan 2024) 🌐 ‘I guarantee he’ll run away pissing and farting’.
[Aus]A. Nette Orphan Road 98: ‘Luchese spends most of his days farting into a couch in front of the TV’.

2. (UK black) to suffer.

[UK](con. 1979–80) A. Wheatle Brixton Rock (2004) 202: In the winter you will fart when it gets cold.

In derivatives

fartery (n.)

argumentativeness.

[UK]‘Aidan Truhen’ Seven Demons 107: [N]ot without some discussion and fartery unless the situation was exigent.

In phrases

fart about (v.) (also fart around)

1. to dawdle, to mess around.

[US](con. 1917–19) Dos Passos Nineteen Nineteen in USA (1966) 360: What the hell do they want to be fartin’ around here for?
[US](con. 1944) N. Mailer Naked and Dead 23: The first wave’s still farting around.
[UK]P. Larkin letter 24 Mar. in Thwaite Sel. Letters (1992) 152: I fart about at College, drink little, read rather too much, smoke hardly at all, & feel tired most of the time.
[UK]S.H. Bell December Bride 184: So what’s the use of all this farting and fiddling around?
[US]J.P. Donleavy Ginger Man (1958) 120: I’m not up to farting about at this godforsaken hour of the morning.
[US]W. Wilson LBJ Brigade (1967) 66: Ya fart around this jount long enough un your hair rots.
[UK]K. Amis letter 23 Oct. in Leader (2000) 9: Choose about 6 chaps and know them pretty thoroughly, rather than farting about with a bit of everyone.
[UK]C. Dexter Service of all the Dead (1980) 160: Why fart around with all that piddling nonsense.
[US]L. Heinemann Paco’s Story (1987) 157: They’ll fuck around and fart around and grab-ass around.
[Aus]P. Temple Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] You still farting around with that McKillop business?
[UK]K. Sampson Powder 329: Wheezer was running the show, here, while Guy was farting round in alternative medicine.
[Aus](con. 1945–6) P. Doyle Devil’s Jump (2008) 184: Weeks of farting around, and now things are beginning to happen.

2. to irritate.

[UK]F. Taylor Auf Wiedersehen Pet Two 197: I’m sorry if you lads have been farted around a bit.
fart along (v.)

(US) to dawdle, to proceed slowly.

[US]Alt. Eng. Dict. 🌐 fart along (verb, intrans.) – to do something very slowly, without conviction. Like other terms using ‘fart’, this expression is almost neutral: ‘John just farts along writing his thesis.’ ‘That car in front of us holding up traffic is just farting along.’.
fart sparks (v.)

(Aus.) to be very angry.

[Aus]G. Seal Lingo 88: One who is farting sparks is very angry indeed, possibly even more so than someone spitting chips.
fart through silk (v.) (also fart in silk)

(US) to live prosperously, to feel happy, to be important.

[US]‘J.M. Hall’ Anecdota Americana I 181: She never farted through silk all her life.
[US] D. Hammett ‘Tulip’ Story Omnibus (1966) 242: I’m pretty well fixed right now, sweating through silk, as the boys used to say, only that isn’t exactly what they said.
[US]G. Wolff Duke of Deception (1990) 138: I sleep in a trailer, his wife farts through silk.
[US]P.J. O’Rourke Parliament of Whores 4: Vote for me, folks, and you’ll be farting through silk.
[US]J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 185: We keep half this shit and sell the other half, we’re fartin’ in silk! We’ll be high and money!
[US]J. Lansdale Leather Maiden 129: ‘You thought you were going to end up farting through silk’.

In exclamations

fart on!

(US) semi-euph versions of shit on!

[US]E. Hoagland Cat Man 53: Let’s go, Chief. We can find a better place,’ Fiddler said at last. — ‘Fart on the cages! I’m stayin’ here, be comfortable’.