Talking shit in English
On the other lessons, we have discussed about how to say “No” politely or how to ask for repeating politely. This lesson we will learn an offensive word “shit“, talking shit in English. It is a very common word but not a polite word to say. However, many people are using it every day. You should neither say it with people you don’t know well, nor with people at formal places such as at work or at school… But you can use this words with your friends when you are chatting or you are talking in an informal manner. You are very likely to hear this word on English movies, entertaining programs (with the beep sound to hide the offensive words) or English music. “Shit” is, of course, not a nice word, so you have to be very careful how and where to use it.
To know an offensive word doesn’t mean you are bad. However, it’s better if you know how and where it is used so that you can understand the English conversations more clearly. There are many phrases associated with the word “shit”, here we only discuss the 10 most common ones.
shit!
to express one’s anger or annoyance
Shit! I was so stupid to tell him the truth.
shitty
not good or incompetent
That shitty worker destroyed the machine and the whole production line stopped working.
feeling sick or miserable
She feels shitty about how badly they treated her.
something poor quality
This shitty bike that breaks down all the time.
shit-faced
to be drunk
He went out with friends last night and got shit-faced.
shithole
a shitty place, a dirty or unpleasant place no one wants to live.
This apartment is a shithole. I hope you can find a better one.
to know one’s shit
to be very knowledgable of a particular subject.
He really knows his shit when it comes to classical music.
don’t give a shit
don’t care
His wife is dying but he doesn’t give a shit.
not interested in what someone else says.
What he said could be true. Anyway, I don’t give a shit.
to be full of shit
not truthful, not credible, not ridiculous
The new president is full of shit. He didn’t do anything he promised.
to scare the shit out of someone
to really frighten someone
He scared the shit out of me when he entered the room so suddenly.
Bullshit
an obvious lie
What he said is bullshit. Don’t believe in him.
something no value, nonsense
Bullshit. You wasted your whole life for her.
to talk shit
to say something rude
He always talks a lot of shit when he gets drunk.
to say in an insulting manner
They talked shit for a while and started fighting.
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Well, we have learned to talk shit too much. One more note I want to explain here is the pronunciation of “shit”. Many ESL learners may say the word wrongly. So if you happen to use any of the abovementioned words in English conversation, here is what you need to know.
The vowel “i” of the word shit is a short vowel sound. It is the same way to pronounce the word “it”, you just add the sound “sh” at the beginning and make the sound “shit”. You may mispronounce with the word “sit”, just remember how to pronounce “sh” and “s”. And also the word “sheet” which has a long vowel sound “i:”. That’s it. Keep it short and be careful when you want to use this word in a real conversation as other people will feel offensive.
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