There’s a Shitstorm A’Brewin’
Merriam Webster confirms the term dates back to 1948
Photo by Julien Delaunay on Unsplash
This afternoon, my friend
I also think it’s super appropriate to reshare this in the year 2025…
~
Readers: There is an abundant use of the word sh*t and variations thereof in this essay. If this word offends you, please read no further. No other profanity is used.
Did you also think shitstorm is a newer word, perfectly matched to 2020? Boy, do I have news for you! This fantastic phrase dates back to at least 1948 and has an official entry in the esteemed Merriam Webster Dictionary.
Would you like to listen to my narration? Cool!
Definition of shitstorm
vulgar slang : a wildly chaotic and unmanageable situation, controversy, or sequence of events. The tour was canceled. A predictable spiral ensued, culminating in an epic shitstorm of arrests, overdoses, domestic disharmony, prison, and parole violations. — Scott Weiland — First Known Use of shitstorm 1948, in the meaning defined above
I hadn’t given this much thought until I was reviewing Sarah Paris’ satirical news article and second-guessing my knowledge of whether shitstorm is one or two words. It can be either! Then I messaged Susan Brearley explaining how I’d gone down a shit-hole of etymology and humor. Uh-oh. Gotta go check Merriam Webster again…
Whereas Merriam Webster lists: Shit, Shithouse, Shithead, Shitless, Shitcan, The Shit, and Hole, it does not yet list “Shithole.” [1]
However, upon digging deeper, dictionary.com and urbandictionary.com provide definitions.
Urban Dictionary Top Definition
shithole
A really bad place or building, especially somewhere undesirable to live or work.You can only judge a shithole by the turds that pass through it.
by Jon K January 01, 2004
Dictionary.com
shithole
[ shit-hohl ]
noun Slang: Vulgar.
1. anus.
2. a terrible, dirty, poor, or low-quality place (often used attributively): I only make minimum wage, so this shithole is the best apartment I can afford. All I ever wanted was to escape my shithole hometown and follow my dreams.
Further exploring this putrid, intriguing, cavernous hole, I find that Merriam Webster has a Twitter account. They have thrown shade at DJT according to Time. The day is getting better and better.
January 12, 2018 Merriam Webster tweeted the definition of “reprehensible” in response to a quote DJT said using the word “shithole” in a derogatory manner. I love word nerds.
Wait, upon further research, I did find shithole in Merriam Webster online. This is one of the strange phenomena of technology. It came up as the first poop scoop on my smartphone but was nowhere to be seen on my laptop search.
Merriam Webster Definition
Definition of shithole
1. vulgar slang : a disgusting, run-down, unappealing, or objectionable place
2. vulgar slang, old-fashioned : a toilet or outhouse
3. vulgar slang : ANUS
First Known Use of shithole
circa 1629, in the meaning defined at sense 3
While taking a break on the toilet I remembered two pertinent points to add to this article:
Sean Kernan wrote about a huge hole this week.
The idiom “built like a brick shithouse” is, I think, still one of the highest compliments of a woman’s figure, but not used much anymore. Apparently, it’s used to compliment men’s figures, too:
Meaning of Idiom ‘Built Like a Brick Shithouse’
To be built like a brick shithouse, said of a man, means to be very solidly built and muscular. When a woman is said to be built like a brick shithouse, it means she has a very shapely figure.
Are you familiar with this compliment? It may strike you as a little strange, but it means built like a well-built outhouse. Awww, nostalgia.
Back to Etymology
Omg…How did I not think to include the term “batshit” in 2020?! Thank you Online Etymology Dictionary.
also bat-shit, by 1967 as a variant of bullshit (n.) in the slang sense; from bat (n.2) + shit (n.). By early 1980s as “crazy,” the sense shift is for uncertain reasons; perhaps from the notion of guano as an explosive or health problems caused by inhaling powdered bat feces in caves and mines. Also compare batty “crazy” (early 20c.), from the expression bats in (one’s) belfry.
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]
So, “batshit” already had referential meaning in terms of health problems. That definition may be updated by 2021 to include “intense” health problems or “pandemic” problems. I still feel sorry for the bats. It’s the humans who are batshit crazy, if you ask me.
And, Robert Frost coined “Shitticism” for scatological writing. Which is what, I’d venture to say, this essay is:
less commonly scatologic (ˌskætəˈlɒdʒɪk)
/ (ˌskætəˈlɒdʒɪkəl) /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR scatological ON THESAURUS.COM
adjective
characterized by obscenity or preoccupation with obscenity, esp in the form of references to excrement
of or relating to the scientific study of excrement
Talk about an exciting Friday night. I’m gonna go check my Twitter feed for any new shitstorms and comfort myself with the fact that shitstorms have been around since 1948 and shitholes have been around since the 17th century. Nothing new to see here, folks.
[1] Sometimes further research means excavating the shit and having more words of wisdom to share with you, my friends. I’m so glad I spent part of my Friday night digging for the straight poop scoop on all things shit.
[2] Thanks, Stephen Dalton for pointing out The Commodores released their hit “Brickhouse” in 1977:
And, thanks to Hank Eng for furthering my research into “Shithead,” for though it is not yet in the etymology source I used, it is both a…card game and a movie coming out next week. Here’s an interview with director Mike Morelli all about making “Shithead the Movie.”
The Guardian wrote about the card game “Shithead” in 2008 with this warning: “How evil will I become? Not sadistic, just addicted. This is so addictive that it will almost certainly lead to a fall-out if one person gets sick of playing.”
Thank you, readers and writers for keeping me on my game. Y’all are the shit! I like to think w’re in this shitshow together.
Loved reading about Frost and shitticisms. (Maybe I misspelled?) Anyway, a fun read for this Creativity Fiend. xox