Friend of a friend

Friend of a friend

Friend of a friend (FOAF) is a phrase used to refer to someone that one does not know well — literally, a friend of a friend.

In some social sciences, the phrase is used as a half-joking shorthand for the fact that much of the information on which people act comes from distant sources (as in "It happened to a friend of a friend of mine") and cannot be confirmed. It is probably best known from urban legend studies. The term was popularized by Jan Harold Brunvand, the best-known writer of that field. It was apparently first published by Rodney Dale in his 1978 book "The Tumour in the Whale" - WH Allen ISBN 0-426-18710-5, in which he discussed the "FOAFtale".

The rise of social network services has led to increased use of this term.

See also

* "Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi" [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Irish_proverbs (Irish proverb)] — a similar Irish language term literally meaning "a woman told me that a woman told her that…"


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  • Friend or Foe — «Friend or Foe» Sencillo de t.A.T.u del álbum Dangerous and Moving Formato CD Grabación Marzo 2005 Género(s) Pop rock Duración …   Wikipedia Español

  • friend — W1S1 [frend] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(person you like)¦ 2 be friends (with somebody) 3 4 be just (good) friends 5¦(supporter)¦ 6¦(not an enemy)¦ 7¦(parliament/court of law)¦ 8 be no friend of something 9 Friend …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Friend or Foe — «Friend or Foe» Сингл t.A.T.u. из альбома Dangerous and Moving Выпущен декабрь 2005 Формат CD …   Википедия

  • friend — [ frend ] noun *** 1. ) count someone you know well and like that is not a member of your family: She s visiting friends in Illinois. close/good/great friend: Helga is a close friend of mine. friends and relatives/neighbors/acquaintances: We… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Friend — (fr[e^]nd), n. [OR. frend, freond, AS. fre[ o]nd, prop. p. pr. of fre[ o]n, fre[ o]gan, to love; akin to D. vriend friend, OS. friund friend, friohan to love, OHG. friunt friend, G. freund, Icel. fr[ae]ndi kinsman, Sw. fr[ a]nde. Goth.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Friend — (englisch für Freund) steht für Friend (Klettergerät), spezielles Klemmgerät, eine wiederentfernbare Klettersicherung, die in Rissen, Spalten und Öffnungen im Fels verankert wird. Friend ist der Familienname folgender Personen: George Friend (*… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Friend (Oregón) — Friend Despoblado de los Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Friend (Nebraska) — Friend Lage im County und in Nebraska …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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