Normal for Norfolk (or NFN) is a

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

term used in some parts of England for something that is peculiar, or odd. The term comes from the inventive language created by

doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

the world over to insult their patients. Utilised by doctors and Social Services in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and elsewhere to depict patients of lesser intellect, some were moved to record the letters 'NFN' against the personal details of certain clients, where they were considered to be a bit strange or had peculiar habits. According to the

urban myth An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

, such clients were so common in that area that they were considered normal as far as Norfolk was concerned. The term is considered derogatory because it portrays people from Norfolk as normally being strange, or peculiar with an inference that they are in-bred. The portrayal of people from Norfolk in this light is a common

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

in England. Within Norfolk itself, the phrase may also be known as "Normal for

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

", which is in neighbouring

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. Most areas of the country have a regional variation of NFN, e.g. in North-West England, NFS (Normal for

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

) may be heard. ''Normal for Norfolk'', was the title of a BBC series, about farmer Desmond MacCarthy, trying to keep Wiveton Hall, his 17th Century manor house, going. This ran for 2 series, of 4 episodes and 6 episodes respectively, in 2016 and 2018.{{cite web , title=Normal for Norfolk , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08ywgml/episodes/guide , website=BBC programmes , publisher=bbc.co.uk , access-date=9 April 2023

References

Norfolk medical slang