What does the expression friend is a four letter word mean?

Answer 1

I'm assuming you have been listening to Cake. Great band! Anyway, a four letter word is a short English word that is generally assumed to be vulgar or obscene. So when John McCrea says "friend is a four letter word," I think that he is really saying that the word 'friend' has lost it's meaning. Just look at all the facebook and myspace junkies out there. It could also be interpreted as a friendship gone sour. The next line of the cake song states "End is the only part of the word, that I heard." This leads me to believe that the song is referring to a once good friendship that has become bitter. Therefore the word friend has transformed from a 'good' word into a 'four-letter-word'. I hope this was helpful.