Origins of words

[SouthernDZ]

Cannot absolutely vouch for the accuracy of this.....


Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything for export had to be transported by ship. It was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure were quite common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the instruction ' Stow high in transit ' on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this "volatile" cargo and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ' , (Stow High In Transit) ,…………. “So it’s really not a swear word” which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

Thus true history of this word. :D

[Golf1echo]

I enjoy word origins! Scuttlebutt is another one from ships, usually a 50 gal barrel of water and a ladle for drinking water, which was an area sailors congregated that might not regularly be together and discuss the issues.

[PedOncoDoc]

Cannot absolutely vouch for the accuracy of this.....


Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything for export had to be transported by ship. It was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure were quite common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the instruction ' Stow high in transit ' on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this "volatile" cargo and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ' , (Stow High In Transit) ,…………. “So it’s really not a swear word” which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

Thus true history of this word. :D

Is this also the origin of the "poop deck"?

[Streck-Fu]

Is this also the origin of the "poop deck"?

All seriousness aside... Poop deck is French in origin from la Poupe.. which is the name given to a deck that is also the roof to a cabin (usually stern) on a sailing ship.

As for Ship High In Transit:

shit (n.)
Old English scitte "purging, diarrhea," from source of shit (v.). Sense of "excrement" dates from 1580s (Old English had scytel, Middle English shitel for "dung, excrement;" the usual 14c. noun seems to have been turd). Use for "obnoxious person" is at least since 1508; meaning "misfortune, trouble" is attested from 1937. Shit-faced "drunk" is 1960s student slang; shit list is from 1942. Up shit creek "in trouble" is from 1937 (compare salt river). To not give a shit "not care" is from 1922. Pessimistic expression Same shit different day attested by 1989. Shitload (also shit-load) for "a great many" is by 1970. Shitticism is Robert Frost's word for scatological writing.

The expression [the shit hits the fan] is related to, and may well derive from, an old joke. A man in a crowded bar needed to defecate but couldn't find a bathroom, so he went upstairs and used a hole in the floor. Returning, he found everyone had gone except the bartender, who was cowering behind the bar. When the man asked what had happened, the bartender replied, 'Where were you when the shit hit the fan?' [Hugh Rawson, "Wicked Words," 1989]

[SouthernDZ]

All seriousness aside... Poop deck is French in origin from la Poupe.. which is the name given to a deck that is also the roof to a cabin (usually stern) on a sailing ship.


Now I have to find an innocent way to work the origins of the words shit and poop into a conversation so people will think I'm worldly...

[rsdengler]

That's just plain "Crap"....LOL....:D

Funny how we take the terms "Sh**, and Poop" and research the real meaning of the words. Meanwhile, we mostly (at least I do) use these words in another context, along with other "potty mouthed" sayings....our minds must be full of it.....:p

[GratefulCitizen]

There was a government project in western Colorado some years ago removing uranium mill tailings from various locations.
Truckloads of dirt were moved around, tested, processed, etc.

A clever bureaucrat had an interesting official designation for a particular process location.
It was the "short haul interim trucking pile."

[Joker]

Now I have to find an innocent way to work the origins of the words shit and poop into a conversation so people will think I'm worldly...

Just slam your hand in a car door or hit your thumb with a hammer. Then you're cleared hot for a whole bunch of choice words. :D

[rsdengler]

Just slam your hand in a car door or hit your thumb with a hammer. Then you're cleared hot for a whole bunch of choice words. :D

LOL.....well, I always use multiple "choice words" when I drive, so does that mean I can be "cleared hot".....:p

[Sdiver]

LOL.....well, I always use multiple "choice words" when I drive, so does that mean I can be "cleared hot".....:p

Choice words are only half of it to be "cleared hot."

A traffic cam caught me one day while I was out driving, this after using multiple choice words.

Once you reach this level young padawan, you will then be "cleared hot" ....