APAD: when the sh*t hits the fan

Meaning:

    It alludes to the messy and hectic consequences brought about by a

    previously secret situation becoming public.

 

Background:

    This expression alludes to the unmissable effects of sh*t being thrown into

    an electric fan.

 

    There are several WWII era citations which have variants of the phrase.

    These more polite forms, which involve eggs, pie, soup and `stuff' hitting

    the fan. For example, Max Chennault's Up Sun, 1945:

 

        "Sounds like the stuff was about to hit the fan."

 

   The Fresno Bee Republican, May 1948, reported on a psychiatrists' convention,

   under the heading See How Brain Boys Also Run Wild:

 

       "However, once that opening point was settled, the psychiatrists entered

       wholly in the business of the convention, which culminated, of course, in

       the selection of officers for the coming year. And that, as the saying

       goes, was when the soup hit the fan."

 

   The significance of a phrase in the language can often be measured by the

   number of variants it spawns. With this one the variants are mostly

   bowdlerised versions of the explicit original - for example, `when the solids

   hit the air conditioning', `when the pooh hits the punka wallah'.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I remembered the speech Lt. Col. Slade gave at the Baird School in the movie

"Scent of a Woman."

 

    When the sh*t hits the fan, some guys run and some guys stay. Here's

    Charlie, facing the fire. There's George, hiding in big daddy's pocket. And

    what are you doing? You are going to reward George, and destroy Charlie.

 

It's obvious that slang and idioms are the currency of communication. The more

elite one stands in this society, the CEOs, doctors, politicians, e.g., the more

they go out of their way to appeal to the masses and to be "of the people," by

using colorful terms and phrases. They must have worked at it.

 

I also worked hard at learning the language, especially in my teens and

twenties, the most impressionable age, in the wrong direction! Well. I had to

pass tests to get here. It was a safer route than taking the boat or tunneling

through the US-Mexico border, I suppose. So no complaints.

 

所有跟帖： 

• soundsVeryMessy ;-)) I think we all did things w/o knowing -最西邊的島上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 08:21:47

• theConsequence whenYoung, it's hardWork&luck got us here;)) -最西邊的島上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 08:22:22

• poor&lucky Charlie, life is never fair ... -最西邊的島上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 08:29:51

• You watched and know the end of that story, right? -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 08:31:34

• vaguley, watched It long ago. hollywoodLikesHappyEnding ;-) -最西邊的島上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 08:34:28

• We are like sampans at the sea with a sh*t load of luck :-)) -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 08:30:40

• I thought u r talking about the Indian shitting in the publi -暖冬cool夏- ♀ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 13:20:22

• haha, maybe that sh*t reminded him of this phase. -天邊一片白雲- ♀ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 14:16:22

• That's the shtick of idioms: they invoke imagination :-) -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 15:19:04

• 哈哈哈，還真有個網上惡心笑話，有個半完工的建築一樓開飯館，某人就餐到一半內急，看有樓梯急匆匆衝到二樓，也沒看到廁所 -移花接木- ♂ (322 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 19:02:52

• Hahahaha! God! Can't be more literal for today's APAD :-)) -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 07/21/2024 postreply 19:51:46