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Shit is an English-languageprofanity. As a noun, it refers tofecal matter, and as a verb it means todefecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it meansdiarrhea.Shite is a common variant inBritish andIrish English.[1] As a slang term,shit has many meanings, including: nonsense, foolishness, something of little value or quality, trivial and usuallyboastful or inaccurate talk or a contemptible person. It could also be used to refer to any other noun in general or as an expression of annoyance, surprise or anger.
The word is likely derived fromOld English, having the nounsscite (dung, attested only in place names) andscitte (diarrhoea) and the verbscītan (to defecate, attested only inbescītan, to cover with excrement); eventually it morphed intoMiddle Englishschītte (excrement),schyt (diarrhoea) andshiten (to defecate), and it is virtually certain that it was used in some form by preliterateGermanic tribes at the time of theRoman Empire. The word may be further traced to Proto-Germanic *skit-, and ultimately toProto-Indo-European *skheid- "cut, separate", the same root believed to have become the wordshed. The word has severalcognates in modernGermanic languages, such asGermanScheiße,Dutchschijt,Swedishskit,Icelandicskítur,Norwegianskitt etc.Ancient Greek had 'skōr' (gen. 'skatos' hence 'scato-'), from Proto-Indo-European *sker-, which is likely unrelated.[2]
The wordshit (alsoshite inBritish andHiberno-English[3]) is consideredprofanity and is usually avoided in formal speech.Minced oath substitutes for the wordshit in English includeshoot,[4][5]shucks,[6]sugar,[7] and theeuphemisticbackronym,Sugar, Honey, Ice(d) Tea.[8][9]
In the word's literal sense, it has a rather small range of common usages. An unspecified or collective occurrence offeces is generallyshit orsome shit; a single deposit of feces is sometimesa shit ora piece of shit; and to defecate isto shit orto take a shit. While it is common to speak of shit as existing ina pile,a load,a hunk, and other quantities and configurations, such expressions flourish most strongly in the figurative.
When uttered as an exclamation orinterjection,shit may convey astonishment or a feeling of being favorably impressed or disgusted. Similar utterances might bedamn!,wow! oryuck!.
Piece of shit may also be used figuratively to describe a particularly loathsome individual, or an object that is of poor quality ("thiscar is apiece of shit", often abbreviated to "P.O.S.").
One study published in 2017 argued that "shit studies" is a cross-disciplinary meta-field of rhetorical inquiry about human communication and reasoning. The authors explained, "rhetorical studies has theorized 'shit' in terms of the communication of transformation, style, and textual relations," particularly in relation to claims of expertise to topics such as "anti-semitism" and "wine-tasting."[10] They conclude thatbullshit speech is one-sided discourse that is difficult to penetrate because it contains "ideological barriers to the expectation of mutuality," working to deflect critical responses.
Shit can be used as a generic mass noun similar tostuff; for instance,This show is funny (as) shit orThis test is hard (as) shit, orThat was stupid shit. These three usages (withfunny,hard, andstupid or anothersynonym ofstupid) are heard most commonly in the United States. Using "as" denotes a subtle change in the meaning of the expression; however, the overall intent is basically the same.
In the expressionGet your shit together!, the wordshit can refer either to one's wits or composure or to one's things, gear, etc.He doesn't have his shit together means that his affairs are disordered, reflecting not bad luck or forces beyond his control, but his personal shortcomings.
Toshoot the shit is to have a friendly but pointless conversation, as in "Come by my place some time and we'll shoot the shit."
Ashithole is any unpleasant place to be, much like a hellhole. This usage originates from a reference to apit toilet.
Acrock of shit is something (a situation, explanation, argument, etc.) that is nonsense or fabricated as a deception or evasion; i.e. bullshit. Often abbreviated simply ascrock. Example: "You expect me to believe that ?? What a crock!"
The phrasebuilt like a brick shithouse is used in the United States to compliment a curvaceous woman, but in other English-speaking countries to compliment men with athletic physiques.[11] This meaning originates from the observation that most shithouses are rather ramshackle affairs constructed of plywood or scrap sheets of steel.
The shitter is a slang term for a toilet, and can be used like the phrase... down the toilet to suggest that something has been wasted. Example: "This CD player quit working one friggin' week after I bought it, and I lost the receipt! Twenty bucks right down the shitter!"
Shit on a shingle is U.S. military slang forcreamed chipped beef on toast. In polite company, this can be abbreviated asSOS.[12][13]
Shit can be used to denote trouble, by saying one is ina lot of shit ordeep shit (a common euphemism isdeep doo-doo). Ashitstorm would be quite a lot of trouble happening all in one place at one time. It's common for someone to refer to an unpleasant thing ashard shit (You got a speeding ticket? Man, that's some hard shit), but the phrasetough shit is used as an unsympathetic way of sayingtoo bad to whoever is having problems (You got arrested? Tough shit, man!) or as a way of expressing to someone that they need to stop complaining about something and cope with it instead (Billy:I got arrested because of you! Tommy:Tough shit, dude, you knew you might get arrested when you chose to come with me.) Note that in this case, as in many cases with the term,tough shit is often said as a way of pointing out someone's fault in his/her own current problem. It's also common to express annoyance by simply sayingShit.
Ashitload of something is a large quantity, especially something unpleasant or disgusting.The boss dumped a shitload of extra work for me this week. Ashit sandwich is something (like a situation or state of affairs) unpleasant made triflingly more palatable by packaging it in things less unpleasant, as rotten meat sandwiched in bread. The term shit sandwich originates from an old joke that goes: "Life is a shit sandwich. The more bread (money) you got, the less shit you have to eat."
Up shit creek or especiallyUp shit creek without a paddle describes a situation in which one is in severe difficulties with no apparent means of solution (this is simply a profane version of the older saying "up the creek without a paddle", profanity added for emphasis or humor).
Shit happens means that bad happenings in life are inevitable. This is usually spoken with a sigh or a shrug, but can be spoken derisively to someone who complains too often about his ill fortunes, or in an irritating manner.
When the shit hits the fan is usually used to refer to a specific time of confrontation or trouble, which requires decisive action. This is often used in reference to combat situations and the action scenes in movies, but can also be used for everyday instances that one might be apprehensive about.I don't want to be here when the shit hits the fan! indicates that the speaker is dreading this moment (which can be anything from an enemy attack to confronting an angry parent or friend). In polite society, it is often reduced to "when it hits the fan".He's the one to turn to when the shit hits the fan is an indication that the person being talked about is dependable and will not run from trouble or abandon their allies in tough situations. The concept of this phrase is simple enough, as the actual substance striking the rotating blades of a fan would cause a messy and unpleasant situation (much like being in the presence of amanure spreader). Whether or not this has actually happened, or if the concept is simply feasible enough for most people to imagine the result without needing it to be demonstrated, is unknown. Another example might be the sayingshit rolls downhill, a metaphor suggesting that trouble for a manager may be transferred to the subordinates. There are a number of anecdotes and jokes about such situations, as the imagery of these situations is considered to be funny. This is generally tied-in with the concept that disgusting and messy substances spilled onto someone else are humorous.
For someone to be described asshitfaced means that person is essentially incapacitated by alcoholic intoxication (i.e. in a thoroughly drunken state).
Shit can comfortably stand in for the termsbad andanything in many instances (Dinner was good, but the movie was shit.You're all mad at me, but I didn't do shit!). A comparison can also be used, as inThose pants look like shit, orThis stuff tastes like shit. Many usages areidiomatic.I'm shit out of luck usually refers to someone who is at the end of their wits or who has no remaining viable options. In polite company the acronymSOL is commonly substituted for this.That little shit shot me in theass, suggests a mischievous or contemptuous person. Euphemisms such ascrap are not usually used in this context.
The exclamationsoh shit! andaw shit! are used to express displeasure or embarrassment (sometimes facetiously) with oneself when one makes a mistake, especially a stupid or avoidable mistake. When used to comment on the actions of someone else, they can take on a more humorous quality if the mistake does not result in serious consequences.Oh shit! is also a reflexive expression of horror or terror, as when witnessing or being involved in a life-threatening situation (for example, a vehicle accident).
The termpiece of shit is generally used to classify a product or service as being sufficiently below the writer's understanding of generally accepted quality standards to be of negligible and perhaps even negative value. The termpiece of shit has greater precision thanshit orshitty in thatpiece of shit identifies the low quality of a specific component or output of a process without applying a derogatory slant to the entire process. For example, if one said "The youth orchestra has been a remarkably successful initiative. The fact that the orchestra's recent rendition of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony in B minor was pretty much a piece of shit should not in any way detract from this." The substitution ofshit orshitty forpretty much a piece of shit would imply irony and would therefore undermine the strength of the statement.
The phrase "(I don't) give a shit" can be used when one does not care about something, or has a passive attitude toward said thing, as it denotesindifference. In context, one can say: "You're offended? Well, I don't give a shit!" or "You're telling me? Go find somebody who gives a shit." PresidentRichard Nixon said to aideH.R. Haldeman while being tape recorded in theOval Office, "I don't give a shit about the lira." He meant he was too busy managing theWatergate affair to consider a crisis in the Italian monetary system.[14]
Theshit list is a category of people who are in ill favor with some individual or group of people, perhaps as the managers of a company, and likely to be the targets of special treatment.
The phrase "take shit" means to receive bad or frivolous treatment from someone. Such an abused person might say "I'm not taking any more of your shit!" to indicate that they will no longer tolerate such treatment.
Whale shit[citation needed] is sometimes used to describe a person who inspires displeasure or disgust, as in: "You're lower than whale shit at the bottom of the ocean!"
“You can’t polish shit” is a popular aphorism roughly equivalent to "puttingLipstick on a pig" (although "a turd" is more commonly used). However, the TV showMythbusters showed that a person can, in fact, polish a turd.
Shit can also be used to establish social superiority over someone else. The most common gibe iseat shit! (cfcoprophagy) expressing contempt. Some other personal word may be added such aseat my shit implying truly personal connotations. As an aside, the above is actually a contraction of the phraseeat shit and die!.[citation needed] It is often said without commas as a curse; they command the other party to perform exactly those actions in that order. However, the term was originallyEat, Shit, and Die naming the three most basic things humans have to do, and it is common amongsoldiers.[citation needed]
The phraseYou ain't shit, expresses an air of intimidation over the addressee, expressing that they mean nothing or are worthless.
Hot shit can be a reference to a matter or thing of supreme importance or urgency ("This report is really hot shit!"). It can be used in adjectival form: "This memo's shit-hot!".Hot shit can also refer to a person who either overestimates his own worth or ability, or is highly estimated by others ("He thinks he's some hot shit!" or "He's one hot shit!"). In polite company the euphemismhotshot may be substituted when referring to a person.
A speaker may show dominance through arrogance using the phraseHis shit don't stink. Its grammatical incorrectness highlights the self-importance of the referent relative to the speaker; thoughHis shit does not stink may come across as being more emphatic due to the mixed diction between its grammatical correctness and thevulgarity ofshit. This phrase conveys the haughtiness of the referent and that he considers himself beyond reproach. For example: "Those pompous assholes in Finance are the ones who ruined the company – their shit don't even stink!" A variation on this theme might be: "Everything he shits smells just like roses!"
The expressionshitkicker can be used as apejorative for a menial worker or other low class person. `within the world of (ii) a performer or fan of country-and-western music.[15] The term shitkicker may be substituted with the less vulgar "chipkicker", as inLyle Lovett's song"Give back my heart" onPontiac, where a girl in a "cowboy-looking bar" is described as a "chipkicker-redneck woman".
The wordshithead is a commonly heard insult. A shithead may also be referred to as ashit-for-brains. Another word for a spectacularly stupid (or contemptible) person isdipshit.Shithead is also the name of a card game.
In North American slang, prefixing the articlethe toshit gives it a completely opposite definition, meaningthe best, as in, for example "Altered Beast is the shit". Other slang words of the same meaning, such ascrap, are not used in such locutions.
To wear ashit-eating grin means the person wearing it may be displaying self-satisfaction, smugness, embarrassment, or mischief. It may also be a playful evasion, as a response to the query "I'll bet you drank the whole bottle of booze yourself, didn't you?"
The expressionno shit? (a contraction ofno bullshit?) is used in response to a statement that is extraordinary or hard to believe. Alternatively the maker of the hard-to-believe statement may addno shit to reinforce the sincerity or truthfulness of their statement, particularly in response to someone expressing disbelief at their statement.No shit is also used sarcastically in response to a statement of the obvious, as inno shit,Sherlock.
In this form the word can also be used in phrases such asdon't give me that shit oryou're full of shit. The termfull of shit is often used as an exclamation to charge someone who is believed to be prone to dishonesty, exaggeration or is thought to be "phoney" with an accusation. For example:
The wordbullshit also denotes false or insincere discourse. (Horseshit is roughly equivalent, whilechickenshit meanscowardly,batshit indicates a person is crazy, andgoingapeshit indicates a person is entering a state of high excitement or unbridled rage.)Are you shitting me?! is a question sometimes given in response to an incredible assertion. An answer that reasserts the veracity of the claim is,I shit you not.
Perhaps the only constantconnotation thatshit reliably carries is that its referent holds some degree of emotional intensity for the speaker. Whether offense is taken at hearing the word varies greatly according to listener and situation, and is related to age andsocial class:elderly speakers and those of (or aspiring to) highersocioeconomic strata tend to use it more privately and selectively than younger and moreblue-collar speakers.
Like the wordfuck,shit is often used to add emphasis more than to add meaning, for example,shit! I was so shit-scared of that shithead that I shit-talked him into dropping out of the karate match! The termtoshit-talk connotes bragging or exaggeration (whereasto talk shit primarily meansto gossip [about someone in a damaging way] or to talk in a boastful way about things which are erroneous in nature), but in such constructions as the above, the wordshit often functions as aninterjection.
The exclamationholy shit derives its force from the juxtaposition of the sacred with the profane.
Unlike the wordfuck,shit is not used emphatically with-ing or as an infix. For example;I lost the shitting karate match would be replaced with...the fucking karate match. Similarly, whilein-fucking-credible is generally acceptable,in-shitting-credible is not.
Thepreterite andpast participle ofshit are attested asshat,shit, orshitted, depending on dialect and, sometimes, the rhythm of the sentence. In the prologue ofThe Canterbury Tales,shitten is used as the past participle; however this form is not used in modern English. In American Englishshit as a past participle is often correct, whileshat is generally acceptable andshitted is uncommon and missing from theRandom House andAmerican Heritage dictionaries.[16]
Toshitcan someone or something is to dismiss or dispose of casually or unceremoniously, as into a waste basket. Shitcan can also be used as a noun:Don't bother; a report like this is gonna go directly into the shitcan. It can also refer to being fired from a job: "The boss is gonna shitcan you if you keep showing up late."
Thebackronym form "S.H.I.T." often figures into jokes, likeSpecial High Intensity Training (a well-known joke used in job applications),Special Hot Interdiction Team (a mockery onSWAT), anycollege name that begins with an S-H (likeSouth Harmon Institute of Technology in the filmAccepted (2006), andShip High In Transit (or the variantStore High In Transit in the filmKenny (2006)).South Hudson Institute of Technology has sometimes been used to describe theUnited States Military Academy at West Point.[17]
In polite company, sometimesbackronyms such asSugar Honey in Tea orSugar Honey Ice(d) Tea are used.[8][9]
SatiristJonathan Swift wrote a controversial poem "The Lady's Dressing Room" containing the following lines (115 through 118):
Thus finishing his grand survey
Disgusted Strephon stole away
Repeating in his amorous fits
Oh! Celia, Celia, Celia shits!
In Canada, "shit" is one of the words considered by theCanadian Broadcast Standards Council to be "coarse, offensive language intended for adults", acceptable for broadcast only after 9:00 p.m.[18]
On the CanadianShowcase television showTrailer Park Boys, characters frequently use the term "shit". For example, the fictional trailer park supervisorJames "Jim" Lahey employs many metaphors with the negative slang "shit" bizarrely worked in; in one episode,[which?] Mr. Lahey likensRicky's growing ignorance to that of a "shit tsunami", while in another episode,[which?] Mr. Lahey tellsBubbles the "shit hawks are swooping in low" due to his deplorable behavior and company. The term "shit" is also used in the titles of that show's episodes, themselves, e.g., "The Winds of Shit",[19] "A Shit Leopard Can't Change Its Spots",[20] and "Never Cry Shitwolf".
The first person to say "shit" on British TV wasJohn Cleese of theMonty Python comedy troupe, in the late 1960s, according to his owneulogy[21] forGraham Chapman. However, this is not independently verified. The phrase "thick as pigshit" is used in the 1969 BBC playThe Big Flame. The wordshit also appears in the British filmCul-de-sac (1966), which might pre-date John Cleese's use.[22]
The word has become increasingly acceptable on Americancable television andsatellite radio, which are not subject toFCC regulation. In other English-speaking countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the word is allowed to be used inbroadcast television by the regulative councils of each area, as long as it is used in late hours when young people are not expected to be watching. It has appeared onABC News'20/20.[citation needed]
"Shit" was one of the original "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV", a comedy routine by the American comedianGeorge Carlin. In the United States, although the use of the word is censored on broadcast network television (while itssynonymcrap is not usually subject to censorship), theFCC permitted some exceptions. For example:
An episode ofSouth Park, "It Hits the Fan" (original airdate 20 June 2001), parodied the hype over theChicago Hope episode. In it, "shit" is used 162 times, and a counter in the corner of the screen tallies the repetitions (excluding the 38 instances of the word's use in written forms, the raising the total to an even 200).South Park airs on American cable networks, which are outside the FCC's regulatory jurisdiction and whose censorship of vulgar dialogue is at the discretion of the cable operators.[23]
Since that episode, the word (as well as many on-screen depictions of feces, as well as defecation) has become a mainstay ofSouth Park. Various episodes also feature a character,Mr. Hankey, who is a sentient piece of excrement. OtherComedy Central series, along with programming on other cable networks includingFX,TBS, and as of March 2014,Adult Swim, also regularly employ the word shit. Episodes ofGraceland, on theUSA Network, do also.
Unlikesatellite radio, American terrestrial radio stations must abide byFCC guidelines onobscenity to avoid punitive fines. These guidelines do not define exactly what constitutes obscenity, but it has been interpreted by some commissioners as including any form of words likeshit andfuck, for whatever use.[24]
Despite this, the word has been featured in popular songs that have appeared on broadcast radio in cases where the usage of the word is not audibly clear to the casual listener, or on live television. For example:
Some notable instances of censorship of the word from broadcast television and radio include:
Using the term "shit" (or other locally used crude words) – rather thanfeces orexcreta – during campaigns and triggering events is a deliberate aspect of thecommunity-led total sanitation approach which aims to stopopen defecation, a massive public health problem indeveloping countries.[25][26]
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