Shit or get off the pot 2540234 217239472 2008-06-05T05:01:08Z EVula 683453 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/75.165.206.172|75.165.206.172]] ([[User talk:75.165.206.172|talk]]) to last version by J.delanoy {{Unreferenced|date=February 2008}} '''"Shit or get off the pot"''' is a common [[English language]] [[expression]], used to urge someone to complete a task with a greater degree of efficiency or timeliness than is observed at the time the expression is used. ==Derivation== It may derive from the time before indoor plumbing when a [[chamber pot]] was used for defecation. The expression, in this way, is essentially instruction for someone to stop being indecisive and act. [[Stuart Berg Flexner|Stuart Flexner]], author of "I Hear America Talking", states that it is a vulgar rephrasing of the old [[New England]] expression "fish or cut bait." ==Famous Uses== *[[Richard Nixon]] reportedly used the phrase while berating [[Dwight Eisenhower]] to put Nixon on his presidential ticket. ==Uses in popular culture== *In the 1994 film ''[[Clerks.]]'', [[Randal Graves|Randal]] uses the phrase to tell his friend [[Dante Hicks|Dante]] to make a decision regarding his present situation. *In the 1999 film ''[[The Bachelor]]'', Jimmie uses the phrase when asking Anne to marry him. *In the episode [[Local Ad]] of the US TV series [[The Office (US TV Series)|''The Office]], [[Meredith Palmer|Meredith]] uses the phrase "piss or get off the pot" to tell [[Jim Halpert|Jim]] to hurry up. [[Category:English phrases]]