The Meaning of FOH: What It Is and How To Use It

Have you ever wondered about the definition of FOH? This guide will provide you with all of the information you need on the acronym FOH, including its definition, usage, examples, and more!

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What does the acronym FOH stand for?

According to Bin Wise, the term FOH often stands for front of house. Front of house is a term that is used to refer to the public parts of a bar or restaurant that guests can be in. This can include a dining room or other dining area, bar, patio, waiting area, coat check, or any other place that a customer may be in or interact with. These places often look nice to give the customers a pleasant dining experience. A general manager is responsible for making sure the front of house looks presentable to the guests. Restaurant management is not an easy job.

Per Urban Dictionary, the term FOH is also a slang term abbreviation for the phrase “f*ck outta here.” The interjection f*ck outta here is used when someone is lying, or when someone is annoyed. This is a casual, slang way to tell someone “get outta here.” This is similar to the phrase get outta town, or get out, used to express incredulity or disbelief. This dismissive abbreviation is often used playfully, but can also come across as rude, so make sure that your connotation is clear when using FOH. This is a very casual internet slang word and should never be used in polite, professional, or formal settings. This slang word contains vulgarity, and expletives should be reserved for casual communication with people that you know well. 

According to The Free Dictionary, the abbreviation FOh has a plethora of other definitions. However, these are far less common than using FOH to mean front of house. While these definitions are still valid, they should be used sparingly. If you do decide to use one of these other definitions for FOH, make sure that you provide the reader or listener with the proper context so that they can infer the meaning that you intend. This should be standard practice for any acronyms that have more than one potential meaning. 

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How can the abbreviation FOH be used in a sentence?

Since the abbreviation FOH can either stand for front of house of f*ck outta here, this means that it can be used in two different contexts in different sentences. In this first example, the term FOH will be used to mean front of house. Janeane is a restaurant manager who is addressing her staff before the restaurant opens for the evening. 

Janeane: Hey Kyle, are you busy right now?

Kyle: Just rolling some silverware but it can wait, why?

Janeane: We’re support understaffed right now, do you think you can help the servers clean up FOH? It’s a mess out there

Kyle: Yeah, of course!

Here, Janeane uses the term FOH to refer to front of house, which is referring to the dining room and other customer facing areas of the restaurant. In this next example, the term FOH will stand for f*ck outta here. In this example, Kyle is texting his frind Mark after a long night at the restaurant.

Mark: What’s up, dude?

Kyle: Just got off work. I’m beat.

Mark: Me too, but for other reasons.

Kyle: What do you mean?

Mark: I hooked up with these two girls at the club. At the same time.

Kyle: FOH, mean. There’s no way.

Here, Kyle uses the term FOH to show Mark that he does not believe there is any way he could have hooked up with two different girls at the same time. Since the term FOH can mean such different things, you should make sure your context is very clear so that no one is offended.

What is the antonym of the term FOH?

When it comes to the term FOH as it relates to restaurant lingo, the opposite of front of house is BOH, or back of house. According to Bin Wise, BOH, or back of house, is used to refer to the places that a guest or customer does not see in a bar or restaurant. Often, this is used to refer to the kitchen. In the kitchen, one may find like cooks, sous chefs, servers (waiters/waitresses), bartenders, barbacks, bussers and other kitchen staff. The back of house also includes storage rooms, a wine cellar, a dish pit, or any other area that the public does not see. 

Overall, the term FOH stands for wither front of the house or f*ck outta here. The term front of house is used to refer to the customer-facing areas of a restaurant. The term f*ck outta here is a slang term that is used to dismiss another person out of incredulity or frustration. 

Sources:

  1. https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/FOH
  2. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=FOH
  3. https://home.binwise.com/blog/foh-restaurant-lingo#:~:text=FOH%20means%20Front%20of%20House,restaurants%20that%20guests%20interact%20with.
  4. https://home.binwise.com/blog/kitchen-slang-and-lingo