Origin of "SHIT HIT THE FAN"
No One
have to have originated after the invention of the rotating electric fan,
but where did this come from ? Who threw shit into the fan in the first
place ?
Things that make me go "hmmmmm"
Bill Stewart
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sand
>I am assuming that this would be of modern origin as it would pretty much
>have to have originated after the invention of the rotating electric fan,
>but where did this come from ? Who threw shit into the fan in the first
>place ?
It comes from a joke that I heard in the late 1940's about a guy who
goes into a bar looking for a men's room and he is directed upstairs
about 5 flights. When he does not find the men's room he is taken with
an uncontrolable impulse to defecate so he spots a hole in the floor
and uses that. Upon returning downstairs he finds the entire bar in
total disarray. He asks the bartender what happened and the answer is
the question, "Where were you when the shit hit the fan?"
Jan Sand
Beagle
1930s and originally applied to the agricultrual muck spreading machines
rather than pure electric fans.
"No One" <No...@NoWhere.net> wrote in message
news:sEzs9.4615$071.4...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
John Hall
>... Who threw shit into the fan in the first place ?...
Possibly my cow-orker Stefan, from Germany. He had an excellent
command of English, but some of the idioms caused trouble, viz:
"This will get interesting when I shit in the fan".
Serving with the RAF in Ceylon about 1954, someone just could not face
rice pudding for dessert again - he calmly turned around and poured it
from the plate into the fan. Fortunately, service life outside the
U.K. was rather more relaxed about such behaviours than home bases.
Another of Stefan's (after garnering support for an idea from
cow-orkers):
"I like to have someone at my backside when going to the boss with
this".
--
John W Hall <wweexxss...@telusplanet.net>
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
"Helping People Prosper in the Information Age"
John Todd
>have to have originated after the invention of the rotating electric fan,
>but where did this come from ? Who threw shit into the fan in the first
>place ?
>
>Things that make me go "hmmmmm"
>Bill Stewart
>
"Fan" was RAF slang for "propeller", AFAIK. I've always thought
"Shit" referred to debris, whether gravel or pieces of aeroplane.
--
_______________________________________
John E. Todd <> jt...@island.net
Note: Ensure correct polarity prior to connection.
Donna Richoux
But if you didn't recognize the phrase already, there'd be no point. You
know that already, don't you.
--
Bset -- Donna Richoux
sand
wrote:
I had never heard the phrase before hearing the joke and I still found
the joke funny. But maybe I have a peculiar sense of humor.
Jan Sand
Charles Riggs
<wweexxss...@telusplanet.net> wrote:
>On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:07:04 GMT, "No One" <No...@NoWhere.net> wrote:
>
>>... Who threw shit into the fan in the first place ?...
>
>Possibly my cow-orker Stefan, from Germany. He had an excellent
>command of English, but some of the idioms caused trouble, viz:
>
>"This will get interesting when I shit in the fan".
An instructor at my school told me about one of his Indian students
who had a similar problem. Evidently, he was unclear as to when to use
"piece of paper" and when to use "sheet of paper". The instructor's
secretary was surprised one day when the student asked her for "a
piece of sheet".
Charles
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> John Hall wrote:
> > "No One" wrote:
> >>... Who threw shit into the fan in the first place ?...
> >Possibly my cow-orker Stefan, from Germany. He had an excellent
> >command of English, but some of the idioms caused trouble, viz:
> >
> >"This will get interesting when I shit in the fan".
> An instructor at my school told me about one of his Indian students
> who had a similar problem. Evidently, he was unclear as to when to use
> "piece of paper" and when to use "sheet of paper". The instructor's
> secretary was surprised one day when the student asked her for "a
> piece of sheet".
Which reminds me of my worst ever _lapsus linguae_. When my then-wifey
Shirley introduced me to one of her fellow teachers, I said, "Glad to
meet you, Mary. I'm Rey, Shirley's wife. No, wait! I mean, I'm Rey
and Shirley is my husband." More laughter. "Okay, let's try it one
more time, I'm Shirley's husband and she's my wife."
--
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
Ross Klatte
>Date: 2002-10-20 23:16 Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <h9s6rukcrmjoi6f9q...@4ax.com>
I heard this joke in the early 50's. The punchline came in a poem:
Little man
So spic and span
Where were you
When the shit hit the fan
I've always thought that this was either a variation of, or the source of,
Oliver Herford's remark, "I would like to throw an egg into an electric fan."
Ross
Roebuck, South Carolina
http://community.webshots.com/user/ross_klatte
Javi
Reinhold (Rey) Aman <am...@sonic.net> escribió:
:-) Mary was good-looking, wasn't she?
--
Best regards
Javi
Victa iacet pietas, et Virgo caede madentis,
ultima caelestum, terras Astraea reliquit.
John Varela
> I heard this joke in the early 50's. The punchline came in a poem:
> Little man
> So spic and span
> Where were you
> When the shit hit the fan
Same here.
--
John Varela
Earle Jones
sand <jan_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
*
As I recall, the complete line was:
"Here you stand, spic and span.
Where were you when the shit hit the fan."
earle
*
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> Reinhold (Rey) Aman <am...@sonic.net> escribió:
[...]
> > Which reminds me of my worst ever _lapsus linguae_. When my
> > then-wifey Shirley introduced me to one of her fellow teachers, I
> > said, "Glad to meet you, Mary. I'm Rey, Shirley's wife. No, wait!
> > I mean, I'm Rey and Shirley is my husband." More laughter. "Okay,
> > let's try it one more time, I'm Shirley's husband and she's my wife."
> :-) Mary was good-looking, wasn't she?
No, Mary was a dog; she was plain-looking and on the heavy side. She
was not the source of my confused introduction. Her husband Bob was a
salesman of metal partitions for toilets, but that also was not the
cause.
I've been trying to figure out that lapsus (it happened in 1960 or
1961); not the reason but the underlying linguistic structures that got
all jumbled and blended.
BTW, the American "dog" (here, a type of woman) does not mean what the
Spanish "perra," the French "chienne," or the German "Hündin" mean when
applied to a woman. English "dog" has other interesting meanings that
also confuse inexperienced translators, but I don't have time to
explain.
--
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
Javi
> Spanish "perra," the French "chienne," or the German "Hündin" mean
> when applied to a woman. English "dog" has other interesting
> meanings that also confuse inexperienced translators, but I don't
> have time to explain.
I understand it, "dog" seems to mean "worthless". I guess that "perra"
applied to a woman would be "bitch".
sand
wrote:
>In news:3DB539...@sonic.net,
>Reinhold (Rey) Aman <am...@sonic.net> escribió:
>>
>> BTW, the American "dog" (here, a type of woman) does not mean what the
>> Spanish "perra," the French "chienne," or the German "Hündin" mean
>> when applied to a woman. English "dog" has other interesting
>> meanings that also confuse inexperienced translators, but I don't
>> have time to explain.
>
>I understand it, "dog" seems to mean "worthless". I guess that "perra"
>applied to a woman would be "bitch".
The normal use of "dog" as applied to a woman indicates she is not
physically attractive.
Jan Sand
Jerry Friedman
> In news:3DB539...@sonic.net,
> Reinhold (Rey) Aman <am...@sonic.net> escribió:
> >
> > BTW, the American "dog" (here, a type of woman) does not mean what the
> > Spanish "perra," the French "chienne," or the German "Hündin" mean
> > when applied to a woman. English "dog" has other interesting
> > meanings that also confuse inexperienced translators, but I don't
> > have time to explain.
>
> I understand it, "dog" seems to mean "worthless".
Although in some circles (originally African American), male friends
address each other as "dog". It's affectionate. "What up, dog?" is a
friendly greeting.
> I guess that "perra"
> applied to a woman would be "bitch".
If it means a woman the speaker doesn't like or is angry at. (Some
males refer to all women as bitches, but I think there may still be
some anger behind that.)
--
Jerry Friedman
Charles Riggs
Friedman) wrote:
>Although in some circles (originally African American), male friends
>address each other as "dog". It's affectionate. "What up, dog?" is a
>friendly greeting.
Where have you heard this, Jerry? I come from 93% black Washington,
DC, and don't recall ever hearing this from one of the brothers.
Charles
Gopi Sundaram
>> Although in some circles (originally African American), male friends
>> address each other as "dog". It's affectionate. "What up, dog?" is
>> a friendly greeting.
>
> Where have you heard this, Jerry? I come from 93% black Washington,
> DC, and don't recall ever hearing this from one of the brothers.
You really have to get out more. That is a *very* common expression, to
the extent that it was made fun of in an ad, where a young man uses that
greeting with an actual dog.
--
Gopi Sundaram
gop...@cse.sc.edu
Jerry Friedman
I first heard it in the mid or late '80s when a black man on a PLATO
(now NovaNet) notesfile (like a newsgroup), who usually posted in
standard English, realized that a newbie was also black and wrote
"What up dog?"
My brother, who works with a lot of black teenagers, told me more
about it after we saw a Nike commercial featuring the basketball
player Gary Payton. (It was a memorable commerical, but they should
have spent the money on wages.)
A Hispanic guy I know in Espanola calls me "dog" when he's feeling
friendly, and I hear it among the male students (mostly Anglo and
Hispanic) at Santa Fe Community College. It still has the wrong
connotations for me, though, so I don't use it.
--
Jerry Friedman
Charles Riggs
wrote:
Getting out more in County Mayo wouldn't be of much help, would it. I
could cast my line10 kilometres in all directions and not snag one
brother. That's how rare they are in the west of Ireland.
It is NOT, by the way, a common expression, "very" or otherwise.
Common expressions take years to develop: you can't hatch one over
night.
Charles
Charles Riggs
Friedman) wrote:
>Charles Riggs <chr...@eircom.net> wrote in message news:<fktcru0c5vqjbi43u...@4ax.com>...
>> On 22 Oct 2002 14:49:11 -0700, jerry_f...@yahoo.com (Jerry
>> Friedman) wrote:
>>
>>
>> >Although in some circles (originally African American), male friends
>> >address each other as "dog". It's affectionate. "What up, dog?" is a
>> >friendly greeting.
>>
>> Where have you heard this, Jerry? I come from 93% black Washington,
>> DC, and don't recall ever hearing this from one of the brothers.
>
>I first heard it in the mid or late '80s when a black man on a PLATO
>(now NovaNet) notesfile (like a newsgroup), who usually posted in
>standard English, realized that a newbie was also black and wrote
>"What up dog?"
>
>My brother, who works with a lot of black teenagers, told me more
>about it after we saw a Nike commercial featuring the basketball
>player Gary Payton. (It was a memorable commerical, but they should
>have spent the money on wages.)
>
>A Hispanic guy I know in Espanola calls me "dog" when he's feeling
>friendly, and I hear it among the male students (mostly Anglo and
>Hispanic) at Santa Fe Community College. It still has the wrong
>connotations for me, though, so I don't use it.
No offense, Jerry, but you and your interlocker are going by, I think,
adverts and hearsay. I knew, and slept, with black people. Drank,
worked, and dined with them too. An expression that odd wouldn't have
escaped my attention.
Kathy says, too, I'll be staying in a good part of town,
restaurant-wise. We talked last night.
Charles
John Smith
>
> I come from 93% black Washington,
Washington DC is 60% black, not 93%. You must be counting Hispanics and
white people just back from Florida.
\\P. Schultz
Mike Lyle
> On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:07:04 GMT, No One <No...@NoWhere.net> wrote:
> >I am assuming that this would be of modern origin as it would pretty much
> >have to have originated after the invention of the rotating electric fan,
> >but where did this come from ? Who threw shit into the fan in the first
> >place ?
> >
> >Things that make me go "hmmmmm"
> >Bill Stewart
> >
>
> "Fan" was RAF slang for "propeller", AFAIK. I've always thought
> "Shit" referred to debris, whether gravel or pieces of aeroplane.
I thought the original expression was "When the shit hits the fan,
everybody gets a bit", but I don't know where it came from.
The form "The shit hits the fan" was used recently -- I doubt for the
first time -- in reference to some obnoxious show-biz personality who
got violent with a member of the public.
This should be in FAQ, perhaps.
Mike.
Earle Jones
*
Rey: Here's the answer -- you guess the question:
Answer: Lassie, Rin-Tin-Tin, and Rosie O'Donnell.
Question: Name two movie stars and a dog.
earle
*