1. Like calling someone ignorant
2. Often said in reference to something specific, the person saying this phrase is expressing that they don't think the subject of their complaint knows what they are talking about, or doesn't know what they are doing or that they don't know anything at all
3. Same as the phrase: "You don't know your ass from a hole in the ground"

Etymology:

  • Shinola was originally a brand of shoe polish or boot polish. The analogy of knowing shit from Shinola refers to the idea that someone wouldn't know the difference between the polish on their boot from shit on their boot
181 Views

When I was slicing a roast improperly, my dad took over and sliced against the grain, and said, "You don't know shit from Shinola"

Submitted on April 04, 2020

Modified by TriplePurple on December 01, 2023

Translation

Find a translation for the you don't know shit from shinola phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to you don't know shit from shinola

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this you don't know shit from shinola phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this you don't know shit from shinola definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "you don't know shit from shinola." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/you-don't-know-shit-from-shinola_62182>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    A bird in the hand is worth two in the ________.
    A air
    B feather
    C tree
    D bush