29 Apr

Shit in phrases

Who taught: Brian, Stan, Jake, Pete and Andrew

“Shit!”

I bet you have heard this one so many times, right? And, I also bet you have used this one a lot. What? You have not? Come on! Don’t tell a lie? OK! If you have not, then I am pretty sure you do not use English enough. So, you should use this a lot 🙂 If you use English a lot, this one should just come out of your mouth without even thinking.

The other day, Stan who is sitting next to me was talking to Brian and they used one expression, “Wish in one hand, Shit in the other hand!” I overheard it and asked them like, “What? What does it mean?” They told me, “It is basically describing the situation of wishing something impossible.” Brian also told me, “Growing up, my father used this expression to me a lot whenever I asked something impossible!” Or maybe, Brian was asking something his father did not want to do. 🙂 The full version of the expression is “Wish in one hand, Shit in the other hand. See which fills up first!” Well, obviously if someone asks that question, the answer is “Shit in the other hand fills up first.” So, if your children ask too expensive present for their birthday or something, your answer is “Wish in one hand, Shit in the other!”

There is also another expression in which you can find “Shit.”

“Throw shit at the wall to see what sticks!”

Andrew told me that Pete used this expression to Jake when they were discussing about a methodology of developing a feature in our software. You might be able to understand its meaning by just hearing it. But, here is the definition I found from Internet.

To approach a task using the trial and error method.

Andrew also told me the original expression of this is “Throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks!” Have you ever tried to throw spaghetti against wall to figure out whether it is fully cooked or not. Maybe, this expression was invented by an Italian cook?? Personally, I like the one with “shit” better. It is more informal. But, I do not think you can use the one with “shit” in business context. But, I do suggest to use “throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks” in your company meetings or conference calls. This is pretty fancy one to use.

I am almost 100% sure that there are bunch of expressions with “shit.” Do you know any?

19 thoughts on “Shit in phrases”

  1. Eunwoo -

    It is very funny expression. I think this is useful. BTW, I will have Google interview on May 13th. I was suprised when I received email from Google Korea because they called me through my old phone number and asked me my current phone number. Actually I applied Google twice, the first one was almost 5 years ago and the second one was last year. For the first application, I had an interview and failed but I did not even have interview at last year. They checked my first resume and called me. Do you think it is possible? Anyway, I am eager to pass interviews and work for Google. There are 3 interviews and all of them are technical ones. Please pray for me.

    Reply
    • jessica -

      Wow…I’m so excited for you!
      I hope you get the job. I’ll keep your job situation in my prayer and pray for God’s guidance.

      Reply
  2. Andrew Cox -

    English lesson of the day

    You would not use “about” after “discussing”, like you did here:

    “Andrew told me that Pete used this expression to Jake when they were discussing about a methodology”

    You would only use “about” with the word “talking”, like:

    “Andrew told me that Pete used this expression to Jake when they were talking about a methodology”

    … or:

    “Andrew told me that Pete used this expression to Jake when they were discussing a methodology”

    You would also say “used this expression with Jake” rather than “used this expression to Jake”. So, finally, the sentence should be:

    “Andrew told me that Pete used this expression with Jake when they were discussing a methodology”

    Good luck!

    Reply
    • Terry -

      Thanks! Andrew, That is exactly what I was looking for. For some reason, I have been using “about” after “discuss” all the time. And I think with and to are the good examples of using incorrect prepositions.

      Reply
  3. Phil -

    I don’t think the origin of the “Throw shit on the wall” expression comes from the “Throw spaghetti to the wall”, because they are different concepts. If spaghetti is ready, it will all stick to the wall, as opposed to shit which although I’ve never actually flung it at the wall, I can imagine some of it sticking while some of it does not (probably depending on your diet and throwing power). Spaghetti is trial and error, where throwing shit is also called the shotgun approach where you try a bunch of things and some will be successful and some will fail.

    Reply
    • Terry -

      Haha, I like the shotgun approach then. Well, if you throw shit at the wall, at least part of it will stick to the wall unless it is shits.

      Reply
  4. Kelly -

    I have another “shit” expression for you –

    “He thinks his shit doesn’t stink.”

    You use that when talking about someone conceited, who thinks he’s so much better than the rest of us that even his poop is better.

    Reply
  5. James -

    In the case of “throw shit at a wall and see what sticks” – “shit” is being used to replace “stuff”. It’s possible to insert “shit” where you would normally use “stuff” just about anywhere if you’re just shooting the shit in a casual setting.

    Reply
  7. CarolN -

    “When the shit hits the fan”! Imagine someone standing beneath a ceiling fan and throwing shit up in the air– what a mess! That’s basically what it means– when something bad happens and everything is a big mess and everyone freaks out.

    Reply
  8. Colin Dean -

    Oh boy…

    “Shits and giggles” – just to see if it works, similar to “for the fun of it”

    “Shoot the shit” – sitting around talking, maybe drinking something casually. passing time, really.

    Reply

Leave a Reply