shit or get off the pot
1
9.9
- idiom
- Offensive
:
decidirse de una vez
- It's time to shit or get off the pot.
Examples
-
If you're unsure about your career path, it's time to shit or get off the pot and make a choice.
-
We either have to shit or get off the pot.
-
MAN 2: Shit or get off the pot!
-
So I left in May '11 to do my own thing, which means coaching others to channel their inner courage and just make shit happen (i.e., shit or get off the pot).
Blog text (25) -
After weeks of discussion, the team needs to shit or get off the pot and decide on the project direction.
-
You can keep thinking about it, or you can shit or get off the pot, but something has to change.
Synonyms
6
7.7
Tell someone to do what they say or stop talking
Antonyms
How Decisive
- Offensive
1
9.9
161
2.8
∞
1.0
318
2.5
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
shit + or + get + off + the + pot
The literal components ('shit' as do one’s business + 'get off the pot' = leave the toilet) create a clear concrete image that maps onto the pragmatic sense 'either act or move aside', so a learner who knows the words can partially infer the intended meaning. However, the expression relies on vulgar toilet imagery and a cultural/pragmatic shift from literal to directive (stop delaying), so full interpretation and social nuances are not guaranteed for a B1 learner without exposure.
Etymology
Shit or get off the pot may come from the picture of someone sitting on a small toilet or 'pot' and refusing to finish. People would tell them to either shit, meaning finish, or get off the pot so someone else could use it, so today the phrase means 'stop hesitating and make a decision'.