Faas

Meaning

Nosy, meddlesome, or impudently forward — poking into business that isn't yours. Someone who is 'faas' asks questions they have no right to ask or inserts themselves where they aren't wanted, prying into other people's affairs. Despite the spelling, it has nothing to do with speed; worn from 'fast' in the sense of forward and bold, it names the busybody and the meddler, a real fault in a culture that guards its privacy and warns 'mind yuh business'. To be 'too faas' is to overstep and pry where you should keep out.

Examples

• Yuh too faas, mind yuh own business.

  You're too nosy, mind your own business.

• Mi nuh mean fi faas, but wah happen?

  I don't mean to pry, but what happened?

• Him faas wid everybody affairs.

  He meddles in everybody's affairs.

Origin

From English 'fast', in the older sense of being forward or overly familiar, kept alive in Jamaican with the meaning of nosiness and impertinence.

How it’s used

Close in feeling to 'facety' (rude/impertinent), but 'faas' points specifically at prying and meddling rather than general rudeness.