Literal translation
face of...
Meaning
inside of
Explanation
This phrase functions as an exclamatory oath marking surprise or annoyance, which explains the apparent mismatch between the figurative sense given, 'inside of', and its actual use as an interjection. The full form always pairs the word for face with a complement, usually coarse or familiar, to intensify the exclamation, on the model of French oaths built around 'face of' followed by a word marking anger or shock. The root word to which it is tied in the dictionary denotes a fact, though in this kind of fixed oath that matters less than the expressive function of the whole. The register is very familiar, even coarse depending on the complement chosen, and the expression belongs to the vocabulary of spontaneous, immediate speech. It is pronounced with insistence, often stretching the final syllable, to heighten the surprise or anger it carries.