This page is a tribute to something we all do on a daily basis. The way we speak of it is something of a paradox. We tend to Poo-Poo (Pun very much intended ), if you will, those who acknowledge its existence in a more than private forum. However, if the importance of a particular phenomenon to a particular culture is judged by the number of words created for it, then it would seem a bit off to hide something of such grandiose importance as SHIT. Now, if you are not quite catching my drift here, let me refer you the age old adage about the Eskimos and the multiple words they use for something that is pervasive in their lives; Snow. It has been said that they use anywhere from 40 to 50 different words to refer to the powdery stuff. Admittedly, much of this is exaggerated. However, they still have in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 synonyms for Snow.
By using this parallel we could say that SHIT is just as important to Americans as Snow is to Eskimos If we can show that we have as many words for SHIT as Eskimos have words for Snow. Take a look below and see if it convinces you of this smelly bodily function's legitimate place in our everyday public speech (and rituals?).
Updated 4/21/97