One of the most disgusting things in the world . . .
and also one of the most useful words in English.
You guys probably remember that eight months ago I made a video about how to swear in English,
and I taught you guys that "the shit" is something really cool or badass.
After releasing that video, I remembered that English has lots of other idioms related to the word "shit"
that most of you almost certainly don't know.
In English slang, "shit" can carry four different meanings.
The first one is basically just "stuff,"
the second is something nonsensical or untrue,
third is something bad,
and the fourth one is the literal meaning of "shit," that is, "feces."
When using "shit" in the first way, meaning "stuff," it doesn't have a negative connotation.
It's just a way of talking dirty for the fun of it.
For example, if a friend from far away comes to visit you, and brings a bunch of gifts,
you could ask:
Or if you're wandering through a place that's too ritzy for your income level, you could ask:
And if someone has a lot of stuff in disarray—
that could be physical objects or it could be a bunch of personal matters in disarray—
we might say:
which means . . . (Well, you already know what it means.)
And one more thing related to the first meaning of "shit" is the word "shitload,"
which means . . . (Well, you already know what it means.)
Moving on, the second meaning of "shit" is something nonsensical or untrue.
When people talk nonsense, we often say they're "full of shit."
And if someone is really skilled at lying or bullshitting—
like, if they've made it into an art form—
then we'd call that person "a bullshit artist."
The words "bullshit" and "shit" are often used as verbs, too.
They mean "to lie" or "to tell tales."
For example, if you're skeptical of what someone else said—
—then you can say:
Or when you think other people are going to doubt what you've just said,
and you want to assure them you're not lying,
then you can say:
You might feel the grammar in that sentence isn't quite right, and instead they should say, "I'm not shitting you."
You're right, but for some reason, "I shit you not" has become an idiom.
Finally, there are lots of times that someone mentions something they think is really special or noteworthy,
but in reality it's totally obvious.
In that situation, we often respond with the phrase "no shit,"
which means . . . (Well, you already know what it means.)
The third meaning of "shit" is something bad or negative.
You can find an example of that meaning in the phrase "Shit happens,"
which means . . . (Well, you already know what it means.)
We usually use this phrase to console others after they make a mistake, kind of like,
"Bad things are always going to happen, so don't blame yourself."
For example:
However, there are lots of other times that someone encounters a problem,
and you don't feel especially sympathetic,
because you feel the problem is ridiculous, or just not worth your attention.
In that situation, you can say, "Tough shit,"
which is like saying, "Oh, too bad," but sarcastically.
And if someone's problems are of their own making, and they're going to be in a lot of trouble,
then you can use the phrase "in deep shit."
No one likes being in deep shit,
but there's something else that's even worse . . .
Just imagine a stream of shit hitting the spinning blades of a fan,
and you'll see how awful this phenomenon is.
"When the shit hits the fan" refers to an unstable problem that has been hidden or controlled
and which then suddenly gets discovered or turns chaotic and can no longer be controlled.
Now we're going to look at the final way of using "shit," when it really means "feces."
There's a phrase quite similar to "in deep shit" from before.
When someone has got a problem that's really hard to fix, really hard to escape from,
we often say:
which means . . . (Well, you know what it means.)
This idiom is so well-known that we often leave off the "without a paddle" part and just say "up shit creek."
To get out of shit creek without getting covered in shit yourself,
you've got to be really smart, really ingenious.
But, unfortunately, not everyone is that bright.
Really stupid people often get called "shit for brains."
You have to be really careful when calling other people "shit for brains,"
because you might make them extremely angry,
and they'll beat the shit out of you.
In addition to "beating the shit out of someone," in English we can also "scare the shit out of someone."
And for people who are feeling that way, we often say "they're scared shitless."
People who are easily scared typically have another weakness, too,
which is that they're relatively indecisive.
With people like that, who never dare to actually decide anything,
but nevertheless talk incessantly about those decisions—
—you can tell them:
In this idiom, "the pot" refers to the toilet, so the idiom means:
Probably everyone has some moments where they're not very decisive.
Or, at the very least, everyone's got some weaknesses. Everyone makes mistakes.
Nevertheless, there's one type of person who imagines they're perfect,
completely immune to mistakes,
and they tend to be really ornery about the mistakes of others.
With someone like that, native speakers would ask:
That question means:
Note that in the phrase "your shit don't stink," native speakers intentionally use incorrect grammar.
Man, every idiom related to "shit" is really negative, huh?
I don't know why, though,
because the reality is every person, every animal has to shit,
so it's a totally natural thing.
To finish, I want to teach you an idiom that's more positive,
which is related to the defecation of bears.
If I asked you "Does a bear shit in the woods?"
how would you answer?
Um, of course?
There you go.
You can ask that question, "Does a bear shit in the woods?"
after someone asks you a question where you feel the answer is obviously "yes."
For example:
Or . . .
I need you to help me with an idea.
If you want to contribute to the content of one of my upcoming videos,
then click the link in this corner.
Or in this corner.
The link is in the description and in the comments, too.
Ok, click it already!