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
While reading Great Expectations (Bookshop|Amazon) by Charles Dickens, a listener in Arlington, Texas, is surprised when one of the characters inherits some money, which Dickens describes as a cool four thousand. Were they really using cool that way...
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
I’m a middle school teacher, and all the kids are using “ish” these days.