Shit from Shinola

Last night when walking back from yoga class my friend said the most hilarious thing. In fact, if I think about it... I crack up. She said, "He doesn't know SHIT from SHINOLA." I remember my grandpa using that phrase all the time...so hearing it again was funny. I think the things that become phrases...that really make no sense at all... are hilarious.

So the phrase "He doesn't know Shit from Shinola" needed some research. Where did this phrase come from? Here is what I found on a website. I apologize...this website is written by a man obsessed with corporal punishment and is full of examples of how companies "spank while you sell". Stupid website...but it gave the most to-the-point explanation of this phrase. Check it out.

Now.... I am really thinking about phrases. There are so many nutty phrases....that people (especially me) say everyday. For example, "She can't see the forest from the trees." I KNOW what it means.... it describes a person who can't see the overall picture (forest) because he/she concentrates too much on the details (trees). I understand WHAT I am referring to when I use the phrase...but what I want to know is WHO coined it? Or WHY is it so widely known? And actually...I'm also pretty sure that the reversed phrase has been in usage for some time too, I know I have heard it before. "Can't see the trees for the forest" used to describe a situation where someone is so overawed/overwhelmed by the size of a problem that he/she can't work out how to start solving it.

I think my personal favorite phrase right now is "Six of one, and one half dozen of another." I have always thought it meant that both are ways of saying or doing the same thing...although it doesn't appear that way.

AND - just so I don't disappoint... I have to include one that I have utterly mis-used since I could talk. "For all intents and purposes." I know how to use it in a conversation to make it work. But not until my dear friend Paul pointed it out to me recently (and laughing his ass off the whole time) It does not say "For all intensive purposes." Yup. True story. I used to say all of the time "For all intensive purposes." No one is shocked here.