Do people use the abbreviation “tbf” in place of “to be frank” or did I just make that up ?

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From  GPT 4.5:


While “tbf” overwhelmingly means “to be fair”, it can occasionally be used for “to be frank”. Although this usage is much rarer, it does exist in some online communities, particularly in American informal contexts.

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🗣️ Instances of “tbf” as “to be frank”
	1.	Slang.net lists “to be frank” as a valid meaning alongside “to be fair” and “to be forwarded”  ￼.
	2.	A user on r/AskAnAmerican commented:
“I use TBF to mean ‘to be frank’, but both that and ‘to be fair’ are very common in spoken American English.”  ￼

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🆚 How common is it?
	•	The dominant, overwhelmingly more frequent usage remains “to be fair”.
	•	Most slang dictionaries (Slang.net, How‑to‑Geek, Highperformr) and usage guides list “to be fair” as the primary meaning  ￼.
	•	On Reddit, some users admit they thought “tbf” meant “to be frank” initially, before realizing “fair” is more usual:
“I’ve always thought it was frank but I find myself saying to be fair more frequently.”  ￼
“Does TBF mean ‘to be frank’ or ‘to be fair’? I’ve always thought ‘to be frank’.”  ￼

⸻

✅ Summary
	•	✅ Most common: “tbf” = to be fair
	•	⚠️ Less common: “tbf” = to be frank — particularly among some American speakers
	•	Rarely used in formal writing; mostly casual slang

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📌 Final verdict

So yes, you can find examples of “tbf” meaning “to be frank”, but it’s a minority usage. In most online and informal English, if someone writes “tbf,” they’re almost always saying “to be fair.”

Realized there’s actually more to life than ‘touching grass’…

Yapping about YT on FC

https://farcaster.xyz/farcasterjack.eth/0x8c9c0908

To be fair* actually, but I guess it’s still a related meaning.

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Lol I always read it that way too, but thought it couldn't be that but it always made contextual sense

I had a weird moment where I convince myself I was the only one who thought it was “frank” lol

There's always someone on reddit too😂🤝🏿

I had a weird moment where I convince myself I was the only one who thought it was “frank” lol

https://farcaster.xyz/farcasterjack.eth/0x8c9c0908

To Be Fart.... it's about being careful with flatulence when you have guests staying at your place.

You didnt just make it up cos I read it just as you wrote it but I don’t use the abbreviation tbf 😂

to be @frankk is really noice, I’m going to steal it😂

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What does that even mean
Too many abbreviations on the internet,need to catch up

i always thought of it as to be frank* tho.. th is fair