4 ms·

"You're actually quite good."

guitarbill 3y ago
That is the literal translation/interpretation, "you ain't shit" = "you are not shit". It could mean that, "i expected you to be shit, but you are unexpectedly good", depending on tone/context. But the much more common interpretation "you ain't shit" = "you are less than shit" = "you are worthless/nothing". See also "it don't mean shit".
CharlesW 3y ago
That would be “You’re the shit”. If you hear “You ain’t shit“, the speaker does not hold you in high regard.
- ralferoo 3y ago
  Maybe in the US. I've never heard "You ain't shit" used that way myself. Could also be generational, I guess. And for the other one, I've heard "It's the shit" for good (although to me, that's definitely an Americanism that became popular in the UK in the 90s), but never "You're the shit" on its own. But just to show how random this is, "You're the shit who did this!" definitely isn't positive!
  - CharlesW 3y ago
    > I've never heard "You ain't shit" used that way myself. Cool, here's a good example: https://youtu.be/HCm_jfLmBEE https://youtu.be/HCm_jfLmBEE > But just to show how random this is, "You're the shit who did this!" definitely isn't positive! For sure. In my experience, in the U.S. that use is almost always preceded by "little": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx_giDzTkeg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx_giDzTkeg Another variant you may not have heard is "shitass", used a lot in Reservation Dogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMG0Guy5WI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMG0Guy5WI
    - ralferoo 3y ago
      I've not even heard of any of these shows before, but certainly in that first clip in British English it'd be more normal to say "You ain't worth shit". > For sure. In my experience, in the U.S. that use is almost always preceded by "little": Yeah, we often say "little shit" in the UK if we want to emphasis how unimportant we thing they are. That said, I've since thought of some almost counter examples to my original comment. I know "shizzle" derives from "shit", and I have heard "It's the shizzle" before (but again originally from US sources, it became a popular phrase in the UK around the late 90s, but largely disappeared now). Thinking back, I've also heard "It's the m**f**g shit man!" but it was always done in an over-the-top way, also rarely, and usually as a parody. Maybe it's just the intensifier in that. I think "It's good shit" and "It's bad shit" mean the same as without "shit". And I still don't think I've ever just heard "It's the shit" on its own, other than that source you cited and that's from the US not the UK. Even "That's the shit" to me would just mean "this is the stuff" with an implication that there's something wrong with it, maybe illegal, maybe broken, whatever. In the UK, "the shits" also refers to diarrhea, so maybe that's why we don't use "the shit" in a positive sense here. Of course, maybe the younger generation do, and I've just never noticed it.
- omoikane 3y ago
  Related, example of "the shit" versus "shit": https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/07/02/garbage-is-too-kind-a-word https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/07/02/garbage-is-too...
DontchaKnowit 3y ago
Opposite. You aint shit means you do not even amount to a pile of shit. You are even less than feces.

That is the literal translation/interpretation, "you ain't shit" = "you are not shit". It could mean that, "i expected you to be shit, but you are unexpectedly good", depending on tone/context. But the much more common interpretation "you ain't shit" = "you are less than shit" = "you are worthless/nothing". See also "it don't mean shit".

CharlesW 3y ago

That would be “You’re the shit”. If you hear “You ain’t shit“, the speaker does not hold you in high regard.

ralferoo 3y ago
Maybe in the US. I've never heard "You ain't shit" used that way myself. Could also be generational, I guess. And for the other one, I've heard "It's the shit" for good (although to me, that's definitely an Americanism that became popular in the UK in the 90s), but never "You're the shit" on its own. But just to show how random this is, "You're the shit who did this!" definitely isn't positive!
- CharlesW 3y ago
  > I've never heard "You ain't shit" used that way myself. Cool, here's a good example: https://youtu.be/HCm_jfLmBEE https://youtu.be/HCm_jfLmBEE > But just to show how random this is, "You're the shit who did this!" definitely isn't positive! For sure. In my experience, in the U.S. that use is almost always preceded by "little": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx_giDzTkeg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx_giDzTkeg Another variant you may not have heard is "shitass", used a lot in Reservation Dogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMG0Guy5WI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMG0Guy5WI
  - ralferoo 3y ago
    I've not even heard of any of these shows before, but certainly in that first clip in British English it'd be more normal to say "You ain't worth shit". > For sure. In my experience, in the U.S. that use is almost always preceded by "little": Yeah, we often say "little shit" in the UK if we want to emphasis how unimportant we thing they are. That said, I've since thought of some almost counter examples to my original comment. I know "shizzle" derives from "shit", and I have heard "It's the shizzle" before (but again originally from US sources, it became a popular phrase in the UK around the late 90s, but largely disappeared now). Thinking back, I've also heard "It's the m**f**g shit man!" but it was always done in an over-the-top way, also rarely, and usually as a parody. Maybe it's just the intensifier in that. I think "It's good shit" and "It's bad shit" mean the same as without "shit". And I still don't think I've ever just heard "It's the shit" on its own, other than that source you cited and that's from the US not the UK. Even "That's the shit" to me would just mean "this is the stuff" with an implication that there's something wrong with it, maybe illegal, maybe broken, whatever. In the UK, "the shits" also refers to diarrhea, so maybe that's why we don't use "the shit" in a positive sense here. Of course, maybe the younger generation do, and I've just never noticed it.
omoikane 3y ago
Related, example of "the shit" versus "shit": https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/07/02/garbage-is-too-kind-a-word https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/07/02/garbage-is-too...

DontchaKnowit 3y ago

Opposite. You aint shit means you do not even amount to a pile of shit. You are even less than feces.