# \_fu **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [January 17, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/fu/126359 "2008-01-17T18:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/marksbrain)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/fu/126359/1 "2008-01-17T18:23:50Z")
Other than sounding vaguely offensive, \_fu (as a suffix) means nothing to me. Could someone clue me in? ///ark ---
**Author:** ![marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/marksbrain)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/fu/126359/2 "2008-01-17T18:28:01Z")
Kung fu, Shaq fu, wiki fu, code fu… It’s a “back formation” in fancy pants linguistic terms: > **[Back-formation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-formation)** > > In etymology, back-formation is the process or result of creating a new word via inflection, typically by removing or substituting actual or supposed affixes from a lexical item, in a way that expands the number of lexemes associated with the corresponding root word. The resulting is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889. (Oxford English Dictionary Online preserves its first use of 'back-formation' from 1889 in the definition of to burgle; from burglar.) > For example, the... –Jeremy On Jan 17, 2008 12:22 PM, Mark W. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Other than sounding vaguely offensive, \_fu (as a suffix) means nothing > to me. Could someone clue me in? > > ///ark > > > – [http://www.jeremymcanally.com/](http://www.jeremymcanally.com/) My books: Ruby in Practice > **[Ruby in Practice](https://www.manning.com/books/ruby-in-practice)** > > Like Ruby itself, Ruby in Practice will make you more productive. The book shows you practical techniques and strategies for small projects and large-scale environments. A cookbook-style reference, it gives you concrete examples of systems... My free Ruby e-book > **[Site not found · DreamHost](http://www.humblelittlerubybook.com/)** > > The owner of this domain has not yet uploaded their website. My blogs: > **[Site not found · DreamHost](http://www.mrneighborly.com/)** > > The owner of this domain has not yet uploaded their website. [http://www.rubyinpractice.com/](http://www.rubyinpractice.com/) ---
**Author:** ![marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/marksbrain)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/fu/126359/3 "2008-01-17T18:54:30Z")
On Jan 17, 2008 9:27 AM, Jeremy McAnally [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Kung fu, Shaq fu, wiki fu, code fu… a construction popularized Way Back When – that’s before “Back In The Day”, for the youngsters on the list 🙂 – by Joe Bob Briggs, “drive-in movie critic extraordinaire”, in his B-movie reviews – see examples at [http://www.joebobbriggs.com/](http://www.joebobbriggs.com/) ## Classic. Hassan S. ------------------------ removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid ---
**Author:** ![marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/marksbrain)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/fu/126359/4 "2008-01-17T19:08:37Z")
Thanks, guys - I would never have figured that out. And how would someone? “The meaning of \_fu in Rails code” isn’t something you can easily google. ///ark ---
**Author:** ![marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@marksbrain](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/marksbrain)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/fu/126359/5 "2008-01-18T00:00:23Z")
I guess other things in Rails, such as “acts\_as\_taggable\_on\_steroids” are a bit ambiguous also. What does the “on\_steroids” mean to somebody who’s reading it for the first time? Rails is designed to be human readable, but the names the humans give to some of their classes/methods/plugins/applications are not human-readable and do not explain themselves in a name, for example, [http://beanstalkapp.com/](http://beanstalkapp.com/). But we have to give “imaginative” names to things because all the proper names are taken by those bastards The Domain Campers. On Jan 18, 2008 4:38 AM, Mark W. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks, guys - I would never have figured that out. And how would > someone? “The meaning of \_fu in Rails code” isn’t something you can > easily google. > > ///ark > > > – Ryan B. > **[frozenplague.net](http://www.frozenplague.net)** > > This domain may be for sale! Feel free to add me to MSN and/or GTalk as this email.