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Actually, I think the phrase comes from the Neal Stephenson novel 'Cryptonomicon'. Two of the characters imply that it is the amount of money that allows you t
by seanc 16y ago
Actually, I think the phrase comes from the Neal Stephenson novel 'Cryptonomicon'. Two of the characters imply that it is the amount of money that allows you to (when necessary) say "fuck you" to The Man, and go do something else with your time.
"We look for places where the math is right. Meaning what? Meaning that pop. is about to explode---we can predict that just by looking at age histogram---and per capita income is about to take off the way it did in Nippon, Taiwan, Singapore. Multiply those two things together and you get the kind of exponential growth that should get us all into fuck-you money before we turn forty.
This is an allusion to a Randy/Avi conversation of two years ago wherein Avi actually calculated a specific numerical value for "fuck-you money." It was not a fixed constant, however, but rather a cell in a spreadsheet linked to any number of continually fluctuating economic indicators. Sometimes when Avi is working at his computer he will leave the spreadsheet running in a tiny window in the corner so that he can see the current value of "fuck-you money" at a glance." - http://www.cryptonomicon.com/text.html http://www.cryptonomicon.com/text.html
- ModelCitizen 16y agoI always thought it came from Robert Evans, the film producer. He mentions the phrase several times in his autobiography The Kid Stays in the Picture that came out in 1994. I recommend this book, by the way. It's strangely inspiring. Get the audiobook for the full effect.
- lotharbot 16y agofrom wglb in yesterday's discussion[1]: "In Soul of a New Machine, there is talk about the formation of Data General in 1969. The attorney advising the founders suggested that they set aside $1m each as part of any deal for the purpose of FU money. The usage may predate even that." (The book was published in 1981.) [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1513390 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1513390 ; Replies to the parent comment include other 1980s references to the term.
- jgoewert 16y agoThat would definitely be before the first time I heard it. My first recollection of it was one of Casey Kasem's tirades back in the 80's. I can't find the original on the web, but Bob and Tom spoofed it with "Mr Obvious - Too Hot for Radio" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vobd2qDpzU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vobd2qDpzU
- Nwallins 16y agoI came across it in James Clavell's 1981 novel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_House http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_House