the fuck

Perhaps modelled after the hell, short for in the hell as in "What in the hell, ...".

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the fuck

1. (vulgar, slang) Used with an interrogative pronoun as an intensifier to express anger, frustration, incredulity, or other strong emotion.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:the dickens

   • 2010 January 28, Stephen Metcalf, “Salinger’s Genius”, in Slate‎, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-11-21:

     So the man didn't like publicity; so the fuck what?

   • 2011 April 29, Tim Jonze, quoting Cat Deeley, “Nerdy but nice”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-11-15:

     "Let me get you a glass!" she beams, then drags me to the adjacent room to see her press officer, hairdresser and makeup artist tucking into food and fizz. "Look at this!" she says, mock-appalled at the scene. "Seriously, what the fuck is this about?"

   • 2016 June 19, “Brexit” (14:33 from the start), in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver‎, season 3, episode 16, via HBO:

     Poland is depressing and there's vampires in Romania. Spain is far too hot and where the fuck is Lithuania?

2. (vulgar, slang) Used after verbs forming a part of a phrasal verb as an intensifier to imply aggressive emphasis.

   Shut the fuck up.

   • 2004, Pun Plamondon, Lost from the Ottawa, page 84:

     “Get the fuck out of my house!” Sinclair bellowed, his face red, eyes bulging.

   • 2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 134:

     Ponytail tells fat boy, Drive the fuck off, get us out of here. He keeps the window down, still death-staring, You mine, motherfucker, wait and see, at Mickie.

3. (vulgar, slang, by ellipsis) Used as a shortened form of the common interrogative phrases.

   The fuck was that? ― What the fuck was that?

   The fuck you think you are?! ― Who the fuck do you think you are?

   The fuck? ― (said incredulously; also as what the fuck?)

4. (vulgar, slang) Used to emphatically express that something isn't true.

   —Mom, I'm going out with my friends tonight. —The fuck you are!

   • 1997, Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers, page 88:

     ‘You're not a self-respecting person.’
     ‘The fuck I ain't,’ the kid said.

5. (vulgar, slang, African-American Vernacular) Used to emphasize an adjective; fucking.

   I'm feeling the fuck good today.

   • 2005, Daaimah S. Poole, What's Real, New York, N.Y.: Dafina Books, →ISBN, page 113:

     "Not really. It was okay. Fucking Natalie's cousin was down there thinking she was the fuck cute. That bitch came up! She met a fucking dude that play for the damn NFL," I said as I sat down.

   • 2016, Ioan Grillo, Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America, New York, N.Y. […]: Bloomsbury Press, →ISBN, page 349:

     Dudley [Althaus] taught me countless things about being a journalist. But the best advice was in three words: "Maybe I'm wrong." You get into a story. You think you have it figured out. But wait, "Maybe I'm the fuck wrong." Then you get deeper into it and discover things you had never thought of.

   • 2019, Tonya Williams, Give Them a Reason to Hate You Shawty: A Hood Love Story, Shan Presents, →ISBN, page 161:

     "You can come over whenever you want to. I just got my stuff settled in here. You gon have to mind the place cause I haven't put anything up yet. I stay in Dunwoody. Close to Perimeter," I threw in there, so she would know that I was living the fuck goodt.

   • 2023 August 4, @mainbitchclique, Twitter‎, archived from the original on 19 January 2024:

     rihanna ate kiss it better so tf bad

• dafuq (said incredulously and used for less serious situations)

• -fucking-

• fucketh