isht n. a euphemistic misspelling of shit, with the same uses and meanings. Also ish. Editorial Note: This term is also a part of spoken language and in both written and oral cases a form of taboo-avoidance. An unreliable source reports this term originated in the obscuring of obscenities in hip-hop recordings by rearranging their syllables. In American communities with Scandinavian heritage (mainly in Minnesota and Wisconsin), the unrelated interjection ish, indicating disgust or dislike, can be found. According to DARE, it derives from the Norwegian isj and the Danish and Swedish isch. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A flashlight emits a steady beam of light. So what’s the flash part of that word about? Also, if you’re a nervous Nellie, you’re skittish and indecisive—both characteristics of an American politician who earned that nickname in the...
Joey from Orono, Minnesota, has been learning Italian and its many idioms, which makes him wonder if there are other languages that can simply be learned in a classroom without input from a larger cultural context of new and evolving expressions...
I’m a middle school teacher, and all the kids are using “ish” these days.