Friend of a friend
Encyclopedia
Friend of a friend 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, where it was popularized by Jan Harold Brunvand
.
The term was apparently first published by Rodney Dale
in his 1978 book The Tumour in the Whale, in which he discussed the "FOAFtale".
The rise of social network service
s has led to increased use of this term.
In some social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial 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
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
studies, where it was popularized by Jan Harold Brunvand
Jan Harold Brunvand
Jan Harold Brunvand is an American folklorist. A professor emeritus of the University of Utah, he best known for spreading the concept of the urban legend, a form of modern folklore...
.
The term was apparently first published by Rodney Dale
Rodney Dale
Rodney Dale , from Haddenham in Cambridgeshire, is an English writer and owner of the publishing company Fern House Publishing.Dale usually writes books about science and engineering but also about urban legends, jazz and Louis Wain.-Works:...
in his 1978 book The Tumour in the Whale, in which he discussed the "FOAFtale".
The rise of social network service
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
s has led to increased use of this term.
Other languages
- "Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi" (Irish proverb) — similar Irish languageIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
term literally meaning a woman told me that a woman told her that… - "L'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a vu l'ours" (French proverb) — similar French languageFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
proverb literally meaning The man who saw the man who saw the bear, in which the bear is never seen, only heard of. - Un amigo me dijo que un amigo le dijo... - In Spanish