fya

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Fya is based on the pronunciation of the word fire in varieties of Black English. It joins a number of heat-related slang terms expressing excellence, like hot, lit, being on fire, the Spanish fuego, and the fire emoji, 🔥, which fya is sometimes paired with online.

Both fya, and its more common variant fiyah, are found in Urban Dictionary in 2005, and usage of the terms most certainly predate those entries in speech. Fyah is also a common form of fire in Jamaican English. Among some Rastafarians, fya is used in the expression bun a fya, or “burn a fire,” a way to strongly denounce something, apparently alluding the purifying properties of fire in Rastafarian belief.

Fya can also be slang for “marijuana,” either due to connections to the use of fire in “smoking up” or associations with lit and its various senses.

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Fya (or variants) is popular in music, as seen in will.i.am’s 2017 track “Fiyah,” featuring the chorus: “I’m on fiyah.” Well over a decade before, the UK R&B group Faya punned on fire in their 2004 track “Too Hot.” The band’s original name was FYA, standing for “For Your Attention,” an early internet acronym used in email.

Fya is also popular in fashion, as seen by Fya Mart, which provides human-hair products. The brand name doubles as an acronym for “For You Always.”