New York ? A veteran New York City news anchor flubs a line and an obscene catch phrase goes viral on the Internet.

Ernie Anastos of Fox affiliate WNYW was bantering with the weatherman Wednesday night when he cheerfully dropped an F-bomb on the air. What he likely intended to say was, “Keep plucking that chicken.”

Anastos didn’t appear to recognize the error, though co-anchor Dari Alexander’s eyes bugged out after he said it.

Just before the flub, Anastos told weatherman Nick Gregory, “It takes a tough man to make a tender forecast,” a play on an old chicken commercial.

Videos of the mistake circulated widely online Thursday, as the phrase took on a life of its own.

Anastos apologized during Thursday’s newscast.