OED: origin of 'fugghead'
Mike Christie
http://www.jessesword.com/SF/sf_fan.shtml
Currently we have citations for fugghead and variants from 1950 and later. I
recall reading in a fanzine long ago (or maybe hearing from someone like Rob
Hansen) that the term originated as a bowdlerization of "fuckhead" to avoid
concerns about mailing fanzines around the US that contained "obscene"
language. Presumably there were stringent laws about such things that are no
longer in force (or at least no longer enforced).
Can anyone point me at any confirming evidence for this? And can anyone
identify the coinage of the term, or locate it more precisely than "before
1950"? Memory says it was from the thirties, but I no longer have any
thirties fanzines so I can't check those. It would be interesting to antedate
1945, in particular, as that's the date of the earliest citation that the OED
currently has for "fuckhead".
Incidentally, the fan page (linked above) at the OED sf project now has draft
definitions for the fannish terms. If anyone spots any inaccuracies, or can
suggest improvements, please let me know.
Thanks
Mike
Dale Farmer
Mike Christie wrote:
I would add the term Minac. For minimum activity required to keep up
an active membership, typically in an APA. I've been seeing the term since
the 80s, but I'm sure it's older than that.
--Dale
Brian Siano
> This request is for the OED sf citations project at
>
> http://www.jessesword.com/SF/sf_fan.shtml
>
> Currently we have citations for fugghead and variants from 1950 and
> later. I recall reading in a fanzine long ago (or maybe hearing from
> someone like Rob Hansen) that the term originated as a bowdlerization of
> "fuckhead" to avoid concerns about mailing fanzines around the US that
> contained "obscene" language. Presumably there were stringent laws
> about such things that are no longer in force (or at least no longer
> enforced).
>
> Can anyone point me at any confirming evidence for this? And can anyone
> identify the coinage of the term, or locate it more precisely than
> "before 1950"? Memory says it was from the thirties, but I no longer
> have any thirties fanzines so I can't check those. It would be
> interesting to antedate 1945, in particular, as that's the date of the
> earliest citation that the OED currently has for "fuckhead".
It would probably follow the publication of Norman Mailer's novel _The
Naked and the Dead_, which substituted "fugg" for 'fuck' to get around
censorship issues at the time. The book was published in 1948.
Peter Trei
I'll second this origin, and add that Tallulah Bankhead, on being
introduced to Mailer, is reported to have said: "Oh, you're the
writer who doesn't know how to spell 'f*ck'."
Peter Tre
Rob Hansen
True, and this may well be where 'fugg' comes from. Equally, it could
be a coincidental coinage. Whichever it is, 'fugghead' itself seems to
be a fannish coinage. The 1959 Fancyclopedia II entry reads:
Fugghead (Laney): A close relative of the LMJ,. The Art Rapp once
defined the term as "someone who disagrees with Laney", a fugghead is
more correctly one who speaks before he thinks, if indeed he thinks at
all; a maker of asinine statements, and fraudulent claims. "A fugghead
is a stupid oaf with a babbling tongue", defines Tucker concisely.
First part of the word is bowdlerised; a little thought will suffice
to translate it.
Elsewhere in Fancyclopedia II, is a reproduction of a 'Certificate of
Fuggheadedness', which also identifies itself as a 'Fan-Dango Award'.
According to the entry on these awards:
"Although the awards were supposed to be annual, they were only really
given out once (in 1949)"
So 'fugghead' was coined by Francis Towner Laney, no later than 1949,
and possibly after having encountered Mailer's use of 'fugg'.
--
Rob Hansen
www.fiawol.demon.co.uk
Mike Christie
> Elsewhere in Fancyclopedia II, is a reproduction of a 'Certificate of
> Fuggheadedness', which also identifies itself as a 'Fan-Dango Award'.
> According to the entry on these awards:
>
> "Although the awards were supposed to be annual, they were only really
> given out once (in 1949)"
>
> So 'fugghead' was coined by Francis Towner Laney, no later than 1949,
> and possibly after having encountered Mailer's use of 'fugg'.
Hi, Rob; long time no see. Do you know of a fanzine that might refer to
these awards from 1949? We have a 1950 fanzine cite from Spacewarp #42;
we'd like to antedate that if we can.
Can you tell me the date when Laney became an active fan? That would
put an earliest date on the coinage.
Thanks
Mike