fanny

fanny (losing without scoring a point)

adjective fah-NEE Rare

Usage Note

Fanny is a term from French boules/pétanque culture: a player or team is fanny when they lose 13–0 without scoring a single point. By tradition the loser must kiss a painted image of a woman's backside (la Fanny). The expression faire fanny means to win without letting the opponent score. The term is specific to this sporting tradition and not used in other contexts.

Examples

"Son équipe a fait fanny ce soir."

Natural Translation

His team won without letting the other side score tonight.

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