fnord

A fnord is a propaganda word conditioned in the masses from a very young age to respond to, usually with fear, anxiety, or uneasiness, but unable to be seen by the general populace. (This definition originates in the Illuminatus trilogy of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.) Sometimes it's used in a sentence to denote a general conspiracy (often jokingly), or sometimes it's used for no reason, especially by Discordians fnord.

A word placed randomly in sentences, purported to instill fear or uneasiness in the reader. Its use generally references a conspiracy or parody thereof.

Popularised by the Illuminatus! trilogy by Roberts Shea and Winston.

Not to be confused with fjord, those elegant creations of Slartibartfast from the Hitchhiker's Guide "Trilogy."

A phrase or sentence that doesn't seem to make any sense.
It is often used in Usenet and other computer circles to indicate a random or surreal sentence; anything out of context (intentionally or not) may be labelled "fnord".
Also:
Fnord is that funny feeling you get when you reach for the Snickers bar and come back holding a slurpee.
Fnord is the blue stripes in the road that never get painted.
Fnord is place where those socks vanish off to in the laundry.
Fnord is an arcade game like Pacman without the little dots.
Fnord is a little pufflike cloud you see at 5pm.
Fnord is the empty pages at the end of the book.
Fnord is toast without bread.
Fnord is a venetian blind without the slats.
Fnord is the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in the navel of the mites that eat the lint in Fnord's navel.
Fnord is the bucket where they keep the unused serifs for Helvetica.
Fnord is the color only blind people can see.
Fnord is the the four-leaf clover with a missing leaf.
Fnord is the space in between the pixels on your screen.
Fnord is the smallest number greater than zero.
Fnord lives in the empty space above a decimal point.
Fnord is the redundant coin slot on arcade games.
Fnord is the founding father of the phrase "founding father".
Fnord is the last bit of sand you can't get out of your shoe.
Fnord keeps a spare eyebrow in his pocket.
Fnord invented the green hubcap.
Fnord is why doctors ask you to cough.
Fnord uses two bathtubs at once.

We are trained from a young age to make the word "fnord" invisible. It is appears almost everywhere and we know subconsciously that it is there. This creates tension, but we can't quite figure out where it's coming from when we read or hear the news, for instance. HOWEVER... it does NOT appear anywhere in advertisements. This makes products seem soothing and good and desirable because the fnords are not upsetting us any more. Further... when you become aware enough through the use of free thinking, questioning the "official" stories, perhaps smoking a little weed.... then you become able to actually SEE the fnords everywhere and you UNDERSTAND that the news merely serves to agitate you and take your mind off of what is really important. No longer are you easily SOLD crap you don't need or CRAP that is bad for you... When you see the fnords and your understanding increases, you see the conspiracy that keeps the general population ignorant and in slavery. It's a hard slog trying to get others to see the fnords. "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

A word referring to the sound of one hand clapping in applause at the creation of the perfectly round rectangle and the perfectly cornered circle. Fnord.

Fnord is a metasyntactic variable. Strictly, a variable used in metasyntax, but
often used for any name used in examples and understood to
stand for whatever thing is under discussion, or any random
member of a class of things under discussion.

fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord