Green’s Dictionary of Slang

fanny n.1

[ety. unknown. The suggestion in DSUE and elsewhere of a link to Fanny Hill, the heroine of John Cleland’s Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1749) does not stand; see P. Spedding and J. Lambert ‘Fanny Hill, Lord Fanny, and the Myth of Metonymy’ in Studies in Philology 108, No. 1 (Winter, 2011), pp. 108-132 ]

1. (UK only) the vagina.

[UK]View of London & Westminster (2nd part) 35/1: [in list of prostitutes] Miss Fanny Fire, from Exeter-Exchange [Is Visited] By Sir Francis Fumble, Bar[onet] .
[UK]N. Rowe ‘Horace’s Integer Vitae applied to the Rakes of Drury’ in Potent Ally 27: The Man, Dear Friend, who wears a C—m, [...] He fears no Danger from the Doxies, Laughs at their F*****, and scorns their Poxes .
[UK]‘Lucy & Her Little Fanny’ in Randy Songster in Spedding & Watt (eds) I 191: Say she my Fanny’s very small, / [...] /It hasn’t got a tail at all, / And it’s got a curly coat too.
[UK] ‘Luscious Fifteen’ Knowing Chaunter 40: So one day she inspected the sweet little part, / Where she found some soft hair had begun there to sprout, / Which tickled her sweet little Fanny about.
[UK]Cythera’s Hymnal 16: Sarey, and Martha and Mary / Sat comparing their fannies for hours.
[UK] ‘Sub-Umbra, or Sport among the She-Noodles’ Pearl 3 Sept. 2: She playfully pulled up their chemises, exclaiming: ‘You shan’t look at my fanny for nothing.’.
[UK]‘Walter’ My Secret Life (1966) II 274: ‘So my fanny’s small?’ she asked several times.
[UK]Forbidden Fruit 19: His great big engine bursting into me and stretching poor Fanny till she was all torn and bleeding.
[UK]‘Ramrod’ Nocturnal Meeting 49: He tickled my fanny.
[US] in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 204: A buck for a fuck, / Fifty cents for a suck, / And a dime for a feel of her fanny.
[UK] ‘Salome’ in ‘Count P. Vicarion’ Bawdy Ballads LX: She’s a great big cow, twice the size o’ me / Hairs on her fanny like branches of a tree.
[US] in E. Cray Erotic Muse (1992) 151: She said, ‘I won’t break Stackolee’s luck.’ / She shook her fanny for a dime, / Making bail for Stackolee.
[Ire]C. Brown Down All the Days 134: Yeah – that her bloody fanny’s bald as an egg!
[US]E. Torres Q&A 110: If I find out you went to Dirty Dick’s, I’ll cut your fanny again.
[Aus]J. Byrell (con. 1959) Up the Cross 29: A grin on his fizz the size of a Cairo hooker’s fanny.
[UK]‘Derek Raymond’ He Died with His Eyes Open 182: Don’t touch anything under there [...] Not even your fanny.
[Ire]R. Doyle Van (1998) 588: The only one dancing was a little daisy jumping around like her fanny was itching.
[Aus]R.G. Barrett Mud Crab Boogie (2013) [ebook] [A]rriving at a photo shoot the next day with a neck full of love bites, a sore fanny and her eyes hanging out of her head.
[Scot]I. Welsh Filth 96: Bet you’ve got hairs on your fanny like the branches of a tree.
[UK]A. Warner Sopranos 191: A jellyfish sting, right in her fanny.
[UK]N. Griffiths Grits 464: ‘Cunt’ is a harsh, brutal werd. Wharrif someone referred ter you as a cunt [...] As if that’s all yerrah, nuthin el’, juster fanny like.
[Aus]R.G. Barrett Rosa Marie’s Baby (2013) [ebook] ‘That’s a Brazilian [...] a waxed fanny’.
[UK]H. Mantel Beyond Black 157: With Morris around I really need some sort of fanny guard.
[Aus]L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] ‘The one screaming bloody murder about her caesarean and her fanny?’ the nurse said.
[UK]S. Kelman Pigeon English 163: He says he’s seen the boobs of every girl in Year 7 [...] Fannies as well.
[Ire]L. McInerney Blood Miracles : ‘[N]o woman is that nice. Unless she has a second fanny’.
[Scot]A. Parks February’s Son 108: ‘[S]he wouldn’t know grief if it crawled under her dress and shouted in her fanny’.

2. (US, also fannie) an old(er) woman.

[US]Ade ‘The New Fable of the Intermittent Fusser’ in Ade’s Fables 43: The Target was a dry-seasoned Fannie old enough to be his Godmother.

3. (US, also fannie, fannyolo) the buttocks; thus fanny-shaker, a bellydancer.

12th US Infantry 73: They made us all get in a circle and stoop over while a guy ran round and hit us on the — never mind where — with a strap — I believe they call the game ‘Bat the Fanny’ and they sure did bat me [HDAS].
[US]E. Hemingway letter 20 Mar. in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 64: The temptation of course is to tell him to take his whole damned family and jam them as far as they will go up some elephant’s fanny.
[US]Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer 273: They can take all their Sam Browne belts and hang them on the Commanding General’s fanny for all I care.
[US]R. Whitfield Green Ice (1988) 82: Look out that gun doesn’t go off in the folds of your dress and send a bullet through your fanny.
[US]Hecht & Fowler Great Magoo 166: That fanny-shaker got him down.
[US]H. McCoy They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? in Four Novels (1983) 47: The only time we need you you’re sitting on your fanny.
[US]T. Thursday ‘The Wild Whampoo of the Whampolo’ Blue Ribbon Sports Dec. 🌐 If he gets knocked on his fannyolo, the Old Man can hoist him up.
[US]H.B. Hersey G.I. Laughs 204: After riding for three days in the back of a truck, my fanny is completely ribbed.
[US]I. Bolton Christmas Tree in N.Y. Mosaic (1999) 273: He loved it dearly: ‘Who slapped Annie on the fannie with a flounder?’.
H. Ellson Tomboy (1952) 56: My fannie is like a red-hot stove. I won’t be able to sit down for a week.
[US]J.P. Donleavy Ginger Man (1958) 71: She wants her life sitting on her fanny in India, whipping the natives.
[NZ]G. Slatter Gun in My Hand 133: Nothing to do but sit on our fannies in the wine bars jacking up a signorina for the night.
[US]J. Hersey Algiers Motel Incident 333: Let them start kicking those young kids in the fanny.
[WI] Max Romeo ‘Wet Dream’ 🎵 Give the crumpet to Big Foot Joe, leave the fanny to me.
[US]‘Troy Conway’ Cunning Linguist (1973) 56: They wet their red lips and waggled their structurally perfect fannies at almost every opportunity.
[Can]R. Caron Go-Boy! 140: The guards [...] will sometimes pat one on the fanny for a laugh.
[US]D. Woodrell Muscle for the Wing 119: ‘No, sir,’ she said and patted her haunches, ‘this little fanny is harder’n married life.’.
[US]S. Morgan Homeboy 115: She shot her hip, plucked a kiss from her lips and planted it on her fanny.
[UK]Guardian G2 24 June 22: She liked the way it fitted over the fanny.
[UK]N. Griffiths Grits 463: The girls’re tawkin abaht [...] words faw ‘fanny’, it sounds like: — In America it means bum, apparentlih.
[SA]Sun. Times (S. Afr.) 6 Jan. 9: All I need is to take care of the essentials – face, fanny and feet, which is why I will bring along wet wipes .

4. (US) one’s self.

[US](con. c.1912) G.H. Mullin Adventures of a Scholar Tramp 114: If you don’t fly your flannies [sic] out o’ town pretty quick [...] I’ll throw you all in the jug.
[US]W. Guthrie Seeds of Man (1995) 278: Le’s jump up an’ scoot our fannies outta here.
[US]Public Opinion (Chambersburg, PA) 16 May 8/3: ‘I got an extension [on a USAF enlistment] [...] but there is some talk about hauling my fanny out of here’.
[US]J. Broughton Thud Ridge 76: We managed to haul our fannies out of there.
[US]L.K. Truscott Dress Gray (1979) 241: You’ve got exactly five minutes to get your fannies up to your rooms and into full dress.
[US]Jrnl Herald (Dayton, OH) 10 June 3/3: ‘I just go over there and say, “Hey, get your clothes on and get your fannies out of here”’.
[US]Palm Beach Post (FL) 21 Feb. 15/1: The staff couldn’t go to a senior vice-president [...] and say get your fanny out of here’.
[US]Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) 18 May 9/2: ‘Get your fannies out here! she urged, smiling.

5. women, considered simply as sex objects.

[Scot]I. Welsh ‘A Smart Cunt’ Acid House 283: The City Café [...] was full of fanny and I hadn’t had a shag in five months.
[UK]Guardian G2 9 July 22: There’s a busload of fanny turning up.
[Scot]I. Rankin Naming of the Dead (2007) 374: ‘Fanny alert.’ Four pairs of eyes looked up at Siobhan.
[Scot](con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 52: We snobby fanny [...] ah mind her fae school.

6. a fool, an idiot, a general term of abuse.

[Scot]C. Brookmyre A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away 5: An absolute fanny. Risking his life in an attempt to overtake before the crawler lane ends.
[UK]R. Milward Apples (2023) 149: [T]here was no place in Boro for a brittle litle fanny.
[Scot]A. Guthrie Hard Man 194: Thinking about plants, now. Like a useless fanny.
[Scot]T. Black Ringer [ebook] n.p.: ‘Sorry big man, no offence or that, eh?’ I give them a nod; wee fannies just need told who’s boss.
Facebook 15 July 🌐 Sat down at the bar, started eggin on my mate, I called him a fanny cause he said its gettin late.

In compounds

fanny batter (n.)

vaginal secretions.

[UK]Roger’s Profanisaurus in Viz 87 Dec. n.p.: fanny batter n. Crusty residue found on a hairy pie (qv).
J. Mercurio Bodies 213: Substance K is a chemical present in breast milk or fanny batter or something.
[UK]Guardian CiF 29 July 🌐 Erotic pancakes?! Does he make them from fanny batter?
‘Rock Rampant’ Mauve Flush n.p.: Danni Fanny-Batter of 'Chlamydia Weekly', / Looked stunning in a tight pair of jeans.
fanny-baws (n.)

(Scot.) a weakling, an effeminate man.

[Scot]T. Black Ringer [ebook] I know for sure and certain this wee fannybaws can count his rides on one hand.
fanny-licking (n.)

cunnilingus.

[Scot]I. Welsh Dead Man’s Trousers [18]: [T]here are three keys tae being a good lover: fanny-licking, fanny-licking and fanny-licking.
fanny merchant (n.)

a womaniser.

I. Welsh Rosewell Incident (2011) 23: He was a ‘cultured left back’ (translation-he could play but was a bit of a fanny merchant).
[Scot](con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 467: The hardest cunt might no always be the biggest fanny merchant; in fact, they very rarely are.
fanny nudger (n.)

a vibrator.

[UK]Observer 29 Aug. 27: This nine-inch fanny-nudger is perfect for mothers.
fanny pack (n.) (also fanny flask)

(US) a small pouch-like bag strapped around the wearer’s waist.

[UK]SKI Feb. 53: Just the right size for carrying personal items is the ‘Fanny-Pac’ offered by Trans World Airlines.
[US]Outdoor Life May 32: For the backpacker, there are many new or improved packs [...] plus belt pockets, fanny packs, and dufflebags.
[US]Newsweek 5 Dec. 81: Her company put out [...] larger fanny packs that hold lunches or tennis shoes. [...] The concept started with skiers’ fanny flasks that evolved into belt packs for nonliquid essentials as the walking craze sent people into the streets.
[US]Eble Sl. and Sociability 119: Fanny pack ‘pouch for valuables worn on a belt around the waist’.
[UK]Guardian G2 27 Apr. 6: They’re fanny-packs. The behind is known as the fanny over there.
[US]C. Hiaasen Nature Girl 71: She wore a fanny pack on her waist.
[UK]BBC News Mag. 20 July 🌐 Dare I even mention the fanny pack?
[US]NYRB 9 Mar. 🌐 A twiggy white kid in Dickies pants, wearing a bulging fanny pack.
fanny pad (n.)

a sanitary pad.

L. Hird Born Free 32: I strip and stuff the gruesome big whale of a fanny pad down the toilet.
[UK]J. Fagan Panopticon (2013) 73: Im’ glad I never had to ask him for a fanny-pad.
fanny rag (n.)

(Aus.) a sanitary towel.

[UK]Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 379/1: since ca. 1945.
C. Wyburn review of Brown Cruel Britannia 🌐 As Arthur sleeps, Stanley is forced to watch Marie slit his throat from ear to ear, tear out his heart, and put a fanny rag in its place.
posting at www.frothersunite.com 🌐 You foreigners fucking disgust me. I would rather suck on a used fanny rag.
fanny rat (n.)

1. a pubic louse.

[UK] (ref. to 1940s) G. Melly Rum, Bum and Concertina (1978) 97: Crabs [...] were referred to by such synonyms as ‘fanny rats’, ‘minge mice’, ‘mobilized blackheads’ and ‘mechanized dandruff’.
[UK](con. WW2) T. Jones Heart of Oak [ebook] There I was to learn all abou[...] fanny rats and chew bosuns and whose old lady was in the pudding club and peacetime runs ashore in Hands, Knees and Bumpsa-daisy.

2. the penis.

[UK]Roger’s Profanisaurus in Viz 87 Dec. n.p.: fanny rat n. 1. Penis.

3. a promiscuous man.

[UK]Roger’s Profanisaurus in Viz 87 Dec. n.p.: fanny rat [...] 2. Sexually promiscuous male.

4. a general term of abuse.

[Scot]I. Welsh Filth 140: That little fanny-rat Ocky has vanished off the face of the Earth.

5. a womanizer.

www.b3ta.com 2 Sept. 🌐 One of the lads, a known fanny-rat, scuttled off into the darkness to find the best-looking whore he could find.
fanny-tosser (n.)

(US) a striptease artiste.

[US]E. Wilson 1 Mar. [synd. col.] June Havoc [...] was referred to as a ‘fanny-tosser’ by New York’s only lady drama Critic Miss Wilella Waldorf.

In phrases

shake one’s fanny (v.)

1. (orig. US) to hurry up.

[US]J.T. Farrell Gas-House McGinty 336: Come on, shake your fannies.

2. to have sexual intercourse.

[US]J.H. Griffin the Devil rides outside 316: ‘I suspect she shakes her fanny for about anything she wants around here anyway’.
[US] in E. Cray Erotic Muse (1992) 151: She said, ‘I won’t break Stackolee’s luck.’ / She shook her fanny for a dime, / Making bail for Stackolee.

In exclamations

my fanny! (also my old fanny! my sister’s fanny!)

a general excl. of disdain, dismissal, arrogant contempt.

[Ire]‘Flann O’Brien’ At Swim-Two-Birds 247: No offence but that class of stuff is all my fanny.
[US]W.R. Burnett High Sierra in Four Novels (1984) 415: He was convicted, with recommendations for mercy ’cause he was a sick man. [...] Sick man, my fanny.
[Aus]Cusack & James Come in Spinner (1960) 20: Distinguished me fanny, Dalgety’s only a jumped-up bitch.
[US]J. Jones From Here to Eternity (1998) 125: Official business, my old fanny.
[UK]B. Reckord Skyvers I ii: colman: ’E was best on the field last night. brook: Best on the field my sister’s fanny.
[US]S. King Finders Keepers (2016) 95: Closemouthed Yankees, my Irish fanny!