san fairy ann
/sæn ˈfɛːɹi æn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.86 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
phrase
Australian usage; New Zealand usage; British usage; Humorous; Obsolete; Slang
Example Sentences
- "“[…] It seems scrounging for fuel ’ad reached such a pitch in the village […] But our washing ’ad to be done, ’an I thought if I got the whole of this football team scrounging they might find something as everyone else ’ad overlooked.[…]” / “‘Very well,’ says I, ‘San fairy ann. Napoo [i.e., n’y a plus] washing—napoo ball.’[…]”"
- "We said he were wonderful brave dog about Upstart, which me and Slippers would not have taken on. He said: "Fairy Ann! Fairy Ann!" But he were most-happy dog."
- "We stood to attention for a seeming eternity while the Adjutant, a runt-like little Guards captain, proceeded at a snail's pace along the ranks, closely attended by the dreaded R.S.M. Copp. […] His [Copp's] choicest utterance was 'I've had enough of your San-Fairy-Ann [ça ne me fait rien] attitude!' – was this an echo of 1914-18 or of our earlier wars against the French?"
- "Occasionally, when he has had too much to drink, he'll give voice to his disappointments, but Sarah only smiles at that and blows him a kiss and says, San Fairy Ann, dear, San Fairy Ann, and he will give up trying to explain."
- "[G]oo-on, he says, goo-on, I'll give you 'alf, Morris, he says if she [a racehorse] romps home, romp, did she bloody romp, she ran like the clappers out of hell, dropped dead two hours after in her trailer but san-fairy-ann, what's that to me, and where's my fiver?"
- "‘Ça ne fait rien.’ / ‘San fairy Ann,’ she laughed. ‘Well, I suppose that’s English now, in a way.’ / ‘That’s what some of the soldiers say, san fairy Ann,’ one of the children piped. ‘What does it mean?’ / ‘Eet doesen’t matair.’"
Etymology
A homophonic translation of French ça ne fait rien (“it doesn’t matter”), probably originating among British and ANZAC army soldiers during World War I (1914–1918).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /sæn ˈfɛːɹi æn/
- British English: /sæn ˈfɛːɹi æn/
Usage
- Australian usage
- New Zealand usage
- British usage
- Humorous
- Obsolete
- Slang
Synonyms
fairy ann