Dictionary

hit the fan en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly derived from an old joke: A man in a crowded bar needed to defecate but couldn't find a bathroom, so he went upstairs and used a hole in the floor. Returning, he found everyone had gone except the bartender, who was cowering behind the bar. When the man asked what had happened, the bartender replied, 'Where were you when the shit hit the fan?' Other possible sources include American or Canadian military slang or agricultural manure spreaders.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To have a dramatic, usually negative, effect.
   • They were just clowning around, when suddenly it all hit the fan.
   • Let me ask you, Congressman, the case of a lot of these corporate scandals, I followed enough of them to know how -- how it works out. Once everything starts hitting the fan, the CEO, the chairman or maybe a large share of the board of directors simply leaves, resigns 2004 December 2, Neil Cavuto, “Interview With Jeff Flake”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
   • Then the shit really hit the fan.

Forms

Relateds

shit happens · shit rolls downhill · shitstorm · shit show · shower of shit