Would you like to tell someone that their level of life experience (or their perception of the situation at hand) has completely missed the mark? The expression 'shit from Shinola' is a common saying in the United States that could apply here. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this common local insult.
Meaning
The expression 'shit from Shinola' is a shorter version of the full insult “[you don't know] shit from Shinola.”
The saying 'you don't know shit from Shinola' is said to someone who does not understand the situation or meaning of what has been said. The term is meant as an insult that outright attacks someone's life experience or perception of the situation as incorrect.
The expression can be altered to refer to one person ('you don't know...'), but can also be adapted to refer to several people ('they don't know...'). '
The expression implies a lack of knowledge, or a skewed perception of something. The implied meaning is that someone would not be able to tell the difference between one thing (shit) and another (Shinola, a type of shoe polish) when presented with the two.
Sometimes the term is used as a self-referencing admission that the speaker is out of their depth in talking points: “I don't know shit from Shinola.”
The term is largely figurative and most often used in a humorous context or with a hint of sarcasm. The term can be used as an “in-joke”
Sometimes the term can be used as a direct insult without any humorous context whatsoever.
The term is common as referenced in popular media, and it has appeared in many different stories, books and scripts.
Example Usage
“If you can't tell the difference between Christina Aguilera and Madonna, then you really don't know shit from Shinola.”
“The remake of the movie is never as good as the original. If you enjoyed the last Ring movie that the franchise put out, then I can honestly say that you don't know shit from Shinola.”
“There's a big difference between regular chickens and free range birds. If you think that they both taste and cook the same, then you can't tell shit from Shinola.”
“If you don't know how to cook eggs even though you've seen me do it more than five hundred times, then you don't know shit from Shinola.”
Origin
According to most online resources, the expression 'shit from Shinola' or the implication that someone doesn't know 'shit from Shinola' has its first use dating back to the early-1900s when the brand Shinola was first introduced to US consumers.
Once the branded shoe polish Shinola became available to United States consumers, the similarity to excrement was not lost on the consumer market.
The saying 'shit from Shinola' would later become more popular as a speaking term thanks to its absorption into United States military slang, where the comparison between shit and Shinola was often made from one recruit to the next.
While the brand of shoe polish is less popular today than it might have been when the expression was first used, the expression stuck and it still appears in a lot of popular media that includes shows and movies.
The term was listed on the website Urban Dictionary from 2003, even though the term appeared about a century before this.
Phrases Similar to Shit From Shinola
- Don't know Jack
Phrases Opposite to Shit From Shinola
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- [you] don't know shit from Shinola
- [they] don't know shit from Shinola
Ways People May Say Shit From Shinola Incorrectly
The most common incorrect use of the term 'shit from Shinola' comes from the fact that most people do not know Shinola is a shoe brand, though this has little impact on its meaning.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Shit from Shinola
The correct way to use the expression 'shit from Shinola' is as a direct, sometimes self-referencing humorous insult – or to use it as a simple direct insult.
The term implies someone's lack of knowledge, or lack of experience.