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RTFM

Rating

RTFM /R·T·F·M/ imp.

[Unix] Abbreviation for ‘Read The Fucking Manual’.

1. Used by gurus to brush off questions they consider trivial or annoying. Compare Don't do that then!.

2. Used when reporting a problem to indicate that you aren't just asking out of randomness. “No, I can't figure out how to interface Unix to my toaster, and yes, I have RTFM.” Unlike sense 1, this use is considered polite. See also FM, RTFAQ, RTFB, RTFS, STFW, RTM, all of which mutated from RTFM, and compare UTSL.

The Jargon File

Cartoons

The crunchly saga

The infamous Crunchly cartoons by The Great Quux are woven into the lexicon, each next to an appropriate entry. To read them in the sequence in which they were written, chase pointers from here using the ‘next cartoon’ information in the captions.