fanboys

F4A1N1B3O1Y4S1

noun

Acronym used to remember the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

fanboys1

noun
  1. pluralplural of fanboy
verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of fanboy

FANBOYS2

nounFANBOYS pl (plural only)
  1. mnemonicpluralplural onlyAcronym used to remember the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

    Avoid putting a comma immediately after any of the FANBOYS.

    2011 November 24, Larry Beason, Mark Lester, A Commonsense Guide to Grammar and Usage, 6th edition, Macmillan, →ISBN, →OL, page 192
    2 more examples

    The risk is greater with subordinating conjunctions (see “Starting a Sentence with Because”), but the FANBOYS are sometimes considered guilty by association: […]

    2008 July 8, Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, New York: Macmillan, →ISBN, →OL, page 80

    These FANBOYS help create compound sentences, and when they serve this role, a comma comes before their use.

    2009 September 24, Mel Friedman, Rena Grasso, Carol Hunter, Laura Meiselman, The Best Test Preparation for the PRAXIS II ParaPro Assessment 0755 and 1755, Piscataway: Research & Education Association, →ISBN, →OL, page 161

Origin

Acronym of For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fanboys. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanboys

MLA

“fanboys.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanboys. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fanboys,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanboys.

Source: fanboys on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.