fa

Everyday

1. (music) The fourth note of the musical scale in the sol-fa system: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. Also spelt «fah». tree →
2. (UK, sport) «The FA» is the Football Association, which runs football in England, including the FA Cup. tree →
3. (slang, as «sweet FA») Nothing at all — a rude-ish British phrase, as in «He did sweet FA all day». tree →

In the lessons

In music lessons, children sing «do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do», as in the song «Do-Re-Mi» from «The Sound of Music» («Fa, a long long way to run»). In sport, the FA Cup is a famous English football competition. «Sweet FA» is a cheeky, slightly rude phrase best avoided at school.

Examples

• Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do! tree →
• «Fa» is the fourth note of the scale. tree →
• We sang «Fa, a long, long way to run» in music. tree →
• My team won a match in the FA Cup. tree →
• The FA makes the rules for English football. tree →
• (rude, UK) He did sweet FA to help tidy up. tree →

Note

Not an ordinary English word on its own. «Fa» rhymes with «car». In the music sense it is lower case; FA for the football body is capital letters. «Sweet FA» is a rude euphemism, so use «nothing at all» at school.