Big fat zero means absolutely nothing — not a small amount, not close to something, but a spectacular, emphatic absence of anything at all. It's the rhetorical equivalent of holding up a goose egg while shaking your head. The 'big fat' prefix is all about amplifying the zero's humiliation, making it clear that there was never even a chance of getting something. You'd use it after a fruitless job hunt, a disastrous first date, or any outcome that delivered spectacularly less than hoped.
Three weeks of applications and follow-up emails, and she got back a big fat zero in terms of interview invites.
No comments yet — say something.
(slang) Nothing at all.
No comments yet — say something.
Add your own interpretation of "big fat zero".
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.