inte fan

Swedish

Etymology

inte (“not”) +‎ fan (“the devil (used as an emphasizer)”)

Adverb

inte fan (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic, somewhat vulgar) sure as hell not
    Inte fan lär man bli fyrvaktare för att man älskar att umgås med folk i alla fall
    You sure as hell are'nt bound to become a lighthouse keeper because you love socializing with people in any case ["Inte (fan) lär man ..." instead of "Man lär inte ..." emphasizes the "inte" (not). Lär (“is bound to”) stays in the second position due to V2 word order.]
    1. (in "inte fan vet jag" and the like, more or less vulgar depending on tone) I don't fucking/bloody know, how the hell would I know?, who the hell knows?, hell if I know, etc. (expressing irritation or being dumbfounded or the like – tone-dependent, like for "I don't fucking/bloody know" in English)
      – Varför flög de inte till Mordor? – Inte fan vet jag.
      – Why didn't they fly to Mordor? – I don't fucking know.

See also
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