Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to turn into a shithouse

to turn into a shithouse

9.9
To suddenly become chaotic and very messy
  • idiom
  • Offensive
: irse a la mierda
  • What started as a calm discussion soon turned into a shithouse of accusations and chaos.

Examples

  • Don't let this project turn into a shithouse!

  • The party turned into a shithouse after the police arrived.

  • After the power went out, the whole event turned into a shithouse of confusion and mess.

  • The meeting quickly turned into a shithouse when people started yelling over each other.

  • The meeting quickly turned into a shithouse when people started yelling over each other.

  • What started as a calm discussion soon turned into a shithouse of accusations and chaos.

  • After the power went out, the whole event turned into a shithouse of confusion and mess.

Synonyms

to devolve
vsto turn into a shithouse
20 7.4

To become worse and more chaotic

implies sudden collapse into chaos and squalor rather than slow decline
to turn to shit
vsto turn into a shithouse
  • Offensive
9 9.9

To go very badly and fail completely

is about sudden descent into chaos and squalor rather than mild decline
to go to hell in a handbasket
vsto turn into a shithouse
  • Informal
8 9.3

To become much worse very quickly and out of control

is a sudden chaotic fall into disorder and squalor
to turn ugly
vsto turn into a shithouse
8 5.1

To become violent or angry suddenly

means falling into disorder and squalor rather than showing hostility
to go to the dogs
vsto turn into a shithouse
  • Informal
6 6.1

To become much worse or ruined

describes a sharp descent into chaos and squalor rather than slow decay
to turn into a circus
vsto turn into a shithouse
  • Informal
1 6.8

A situation that becomes noisy, messy, and out of control

means descend into disorder and squalor rather than noisy entertainment
to take over the asylum
vsto turn into a shithouse
  • Informal
1 9.9

A situation where people who should not lead control things and cause chaos

describes descent into disorder and squalor without implying who caused it

Antonyms

to improve
∞ 1.0

To make something better

How Chaotic

a right state of chaos
  • Informal
8.4
to turn into a shithouse
  • Offensive
9.9
to fall apart
155 2.8
to go downhill
  • Informal
37 3.9
to go wrong
495 2.4

Surface Forms

turn into a shithouse infinitive
turned into a shithouse past
turned into a shithouse past participle
turning into a shithouse present participle
turns into a shithouse third person singular

Morphology

turn + into + a + shithouse

The component 'turn into' is fully compositional (change into) and 'shithouse' literally evokes a filthy toilet or extremely dirty place, so a learner who knows the parts can infer that something became very dirty or degraded. However, the expression is a coarse, metaphorical extension where the sense 'descend into chaos/squalor' and its pragmatic register are not entirely predictable for a B1 learner, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrase turn into a shithouse comes from the image of a place becoming a shithouse, an outdoor toilet that is dirty, smelly and full of mess. So it means a situation 'becomes chaotic' or 'goes badly wrong'.