Ardent Vocabulary: Shit

Welcome to my newest ongoing series, Ardent Vocabulary. Over the years, I’ve noticed that many words have taken on more meaning for me than is covered by the dictionary or common slang usuage. I find these colorations to be one of the more fascinating aspects of language, which is constantly growing and fluctuating as people interact. Enter the Ardent Vocabulary series: in each episode, I’ll explore a particular word (or set of synonyms), looking both at official and unofficial definitions, as well as exploring my personal thoughts and experiences concerning that word. Just to kick things off on a fun and irreverant note, I’ve decided to start with shit. So, without further ado, let the definitions begin.

To begin, lets look at some definitions of the word shit. According to dictionary.com, shit means:

–noun
1. excrement, feces.
2. an act of defecating, evacuation.
3. the shits. diarrhea.
4. Slang . pretense, lies, exaggeration, or nonsense.
5. Slang . something inferior or worthless.
6. Slang . a selfish, mean, or otherwise contemptible person.
7. Slang . narcotic drugs, especially heroin or marijuana.
8. Slang . possessions, equipment, mementos, etc.; stuff.–verb (used without object)
9.to defecate.

–verb (used with object)
10. Slang . to exaggerate or lie to.–interjection
11. Slang . (used to express disgust, disappointment, frustration, contempt, or the like).

–Idioms
12. give a shit, Slang . to care, be concerned.
13. no shit, (used to express amazement, incredulity, or derision).
14. up shit creek, Slang . in a desperate or hopeless situation, in serious trouble. Also, up shits creek, up shit creek without a paddle.
(Source)

This definition, as one would expect from a good dictionary, covers the major bases. The word shit means feces and has many derivative slang usages and idiomatic expressions. No surprises there. This definition is rather tame and academic, however, and only hintsat the extensive range of usage, which is better captured by this definition from urbandictionary.com:

“Shit” may just be the most powerful word in the English language. You can be shit faced, shit out of luck, or have shit for brains. With a little effort, you can get your shit together, find a place for your shit or decide to shit or get off the pot. You can smoke shit, buy shit, sell shit, lose shit, find shit, forget shit, and tell others to eat shit and die. Some people know their shit while others can’t tell the difference between shit and shineola. There are lucky shits, dumb shits, crazy shits, and sweet shits. There is bull shit, horse shit and chicken shit. You can throw shit, sling shit, catch shit, or duck when shit hits the fan. You can give a shit or serve shit on a shingle. You can find yourself in deep shit or be happier than a pig in shit. Some days are colder than shit, some days are hotter than shit, and some days are just plain shitty. Some music sounds like shit, things can look like shit, and there are times when you feel like shit. You can have too much shit, not enough shit, the right shit, the wrong shit or a lot of weird shit. You can carry shit, have a mountain of shit, or find yourself up shit creek without a paddle. Sometimes everything you touch turns to shit and other times you swim in a sea of shit and come out smelling like a rose. When you stop to consider all the facts, it’s the basic building block of creation.
Do you really need an example after all that shit? I didn’t think so.
(Source)

I love that definition. I think it captures the essence of shit in a witty way, based entirely on example rather than definition. Both of these definitions, however, fail to mention one of the most important things about shit: it becomes manure, and therefore soil. Since the dawn of creatures with waste products to excreet, shit has been piling up, breaking down, and turning into soil, as well a providing a food source for tons of different species (dung beetles being an obvious example). Step off the concrete onto any patch of dirt, and at least some portion of that dirt used to be shit. The breakdown and decay of shit adds nutrients back to the soil, making it one of the essential fertilizers of the world, as any good farmer or gardener will tell you. (My mother, for example, is always delighted to announce the arrival of her shipments of horse shit, which have contributed to year after year of fruitful harvest.)

It seems a shame that this potitive contribution is not reflected more in the many uses of shit. Not only does shit fail to incorporate much positive implication, being a blanket term for things which are gross, bad, or outcast, but even these negative meanings are being diluted as shit becomes little more than an emphasis word. I don’t like that. The fact that shit will become the soil which my food is grown from is something I have in mind more and more, and my usage is beginning to reflect this. Shit is an important part of the life cycle of an ecosystem, something which I value, so I have been using shit more often to say that something is great rather than to say it is bad.

So, when I say something like “Wow, that is some awesome shit!” I want to you understand my full meaning. :D

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P.S. There are so many words I could have used to launch this Vocabulary series, but I just couldn’t resist opening with shit; writing a mini-essay that allowed me to put shit in italics over and over again was far more fun than it should have been. Besides, it fits my essential philosophy: from shit I came, and to shit I will return; bless this shit which feeds me. Amen.