Ship High In Transit.... [Archive] - The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions

SharpByCoop

01-23-2003, 09:45 PM

This just in...

Shipping Terms:

In the 16th and 17th centuries, before commercial fertilizer was invented, large shipments of manure were transported by ship. It was shipped in dry bundles because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet. But once water hit it at sea, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began, a by-product of which is methane gas. It didn't take long for methane 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 somebody figured out what was happening. Once they determined the role that manure played in the explosions, everybody began stamping the bundles with the term "Ship High In Transit", so that the sailors would know 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.", which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.You probably did not know the true history of this word.

Sounds plausible! :)

Coop

Chuck Burrows

01-23-2003, 10:19 PM

Apparently this is another of the new Internet legends:
In 2002, an alleged acronymic origin for #### appeared on the Internet. According to this tale, the word is from an acronym for Ship High In Transit, referring to barges carrying manure.

Found the following etymology of the word on About.com

Subject: origin of ####

Variation of Coop's posting (they listed that one too)
In the 1800's, cow pie's were collected on the prarie and boxed and loaded on steam ships to burn instead of wood. Wood was not only hard to find, but heavy to move around and store.

When the boxes of cow pie's were in the sun for days on board the ships, they would smell bad. So when the manure was boxed up, they stamped the outside of the box, S.H.I.T....which means Ship High In Transit.

When people came aboard the ship and said,"Oh what is that smell!" They were told it was ####.

That is where the saying came from...It smells like ####! :-)

Comments: Well, clever as that all is, etymologists everywhere must be holding their noses right about now. According to my dictionary, the word "####" is much older than the 1800s, appearing in its earliest form — before 1,000 A.D. — as the Old English verb scitan. That's confirmed by lexicographer Hugh Rawson in his bawdily informative book, "Wicked Words" (New York: Crown, 1989), where it is further noted that the expletive is a distant relative of words like science, schedule and shield. They all derive from the Indo-European root skei-, meaning "to cut" or "to split." For most of its history "####" was spelled "####e" (and sometimes still is, euphemistically), but the modern spelling of the word can be found in texts dating as far back as the mid-1700s. It most certainly did not originate as an acronym.

Apropos that false premise, Rawson observes that "####" has long been the subject of naughty wordplay, quite often based on made-up acronyms. For example:

In the Army, officers who did not go to West Point have been known to disparage the military academy as the South Hudson Institute of Technology.... And if an angelic six-year-old asks, "Would you like to have some Sugar Honey Iced Tea?", the safest course is to pretend that you have suddenly gone stone deaf.
And, finally, the "S.H.I.T." tale is reminiscent of another popular specimen of folk etymology claiming that the F-word (another good, old-fashioned, all-purpose, four-letter expletive) originated as an acronym of "Fornication Under Consent of the King," or, in another variant, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge." Needless to say, it's all C.R.A.P.

Apparently though it is a form of the ubiquitous urban legend, but I'll bet you could win a round or two with it!

Chuck
Addendum: the form "####e" (with a long I) is how most Irish and Scots pronounce it.

Coop-Does this mean our Mom's are going to wash out our mouths with soap er rather wash our hands:rolleyes:


The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions > Community Discussion Boards > Knife Network Community > Ship High In Transit.... PDA View Full Version : Ship High In Transit.... SharpByCoop 01-23-2003, 09:45 PM This just in... Shipping Terms: In the 16th and 17th centuries, before commercial fertilizer was invented, large shipments of manure were transported by ship. It was shipped in dry bundles because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet. But once water hit it at sea, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began, a by-product of which is methane gas. It didn't take long for methane 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 somebody figured out what was happening. Once they determined the role that manure played in the explosions, everybody began stamping the bundles with the term "Ship High In Transit", so that the sailors would know 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.", which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.You probably did not know the true history of this word. Sounds plausible! :) Coop Chuck Burrows 01-23-2003, 10:19 PM Apparently this is another of the new Internet legends: In 2002, an alleged acronymic origin for #### appeared on the Internet. According to this tale, the word is from an acronym for Ship High In Transit, referring to barges carrying manure. Found the following etymology of the word on About.com Subject: origin of #### Variation of Coop's posting (they listed that one too) In the 1800's, cow pie's were collected on the prarie and boxed and loaded on steam ships to burn instead of wood. Wood was not only hard to find, but heavy to move around and store. When the boxes of cow pie's were in the sun for days on board the ships, they would smell bad. So when the manure was boxed up, they stamped the outside of the box, S.H.I.T....which means Ship High In Transit. When people came aboard the ship and said,"Oh what is that smell!" They were told it was ####. That is where the saying came from...It smells like ####! :-) Comments: Well, clever as that all is, etymologists everywhere must be holding their noses right about now. According to my dictionary, the word "####" is much older than the 1800s, appearing in its earliest form — before 1,000 A.D. — as the Old English verb scitan. That's confirmed by lexicographer Hugh Rawson in his bawdily informative book, "Wicked Words" (New York: Crown, 1989), where it is further noted that the expletive is a distant relative of words like science, schedule and shield. They all derive from the Indo-European root skei-, meaning "to cut" or "to split." For most of its history "####" was spelled "####e" (and sometimes still is, euphemistically), but the modern spelling of the word can be found in texts dating as far back as the mid-1700s. It most certainly did not originate as an acronym. Apropos that false premise, Rawson observes that "####" has long been the subject of naughty wordplay, quite often based on made-up acronyms. For example: In the Army, officers who did not go to West Point have been known to disparage the military academy as the South Hudson Institute of Technology.... And if an angelic six-year-old asks, "Would you like to have some Sugar Honey Iced Tea?", the safest course is to pretend that you have suddenly gone stone deaf. And, finally, the "S.H.I.T." tale is reminiscent of another popular specimen of folk etymology claiming that the F-word (another good, old-fashioned, all-purpose, four-letter expletive) originated as an acronym of "Fornication Under Consent of the King," or, in another variant, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge." Needless to say, it's all C.R.A.P. Apparently though it is a form of the ubiquitous urban legend, but I'll bet you could win a round or two with it! Chuck Addendum: the form "####e" (with a long I) is how most Irish and Scots pronounce it. Coop-Does this mean our Mom's are going to wash out our mouths with soap er rather wash our hands:rolleyes: hammerdownnow 01-24-2003, 04:14 AM What did so-#### -insane feed the troops during the gulf war? answer: ####e on a shingle.