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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

a steaming load

English answer:

bullshit / nonsense / rubbish

Added to glossary by Charles Davis
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2015-09-25 18:54:10 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Sep 22, 2015 18:38
8 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term

a steaming load

English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Thriller Fiction
a professor said that he could call any verdict based on the jurors' expressions. Based on blank faces she could make out in the jury box, she had to conclude, Professor, that that was a steaming load.

What is steaming load here? So did she believe the professor or not?
Responses
4 +8 bullshit
5 +1 a heap of fresh excrement
3 +1 a load of rubbish/nonsense
4 a steaming load of manure
Change log

Sep 25, 2015 18:58: Charles Davis Created KOG entry

Discussion

airmailrpl Sep 23, 2015:
less ofensive is "BS" >As for how offensive "bullshit" is, I'd better defer to the opinion of American >colleagues. ...more often used and not as gross is the term "BS"
Charles Davis Sep 22, 2015:
Ah, I see what you mean Yes, of course, "a steaming load" on its own can be taken as a way of avoiding saying the offending word itself. My answer was simply intended as an explanation of how "a steaming load" comes to mean "nonsense": supplying the missing link, as it were. But I would say that "a steaming load" is a pretty robust expression and barely less strong than using the word itself, which everyone will think of when they hear it.

For "sugar" I'd probably use something like "ostras" or "jolín" in Spanish; it's really a bit twee. Of course you have to get the register right, but English-English questions are not so much about translation as explanation, or at least that's how I take them.

As for how offensive "bullshit" is, I'd better defer to the opinion of American colleagues. I may be understating it. It certainly must be and is classed as offensive, but it's very common, and I don't think it's one of the most offensive words one can use.
Helena Chavarria Sep 22, 2015:
@Charles No, I wasn't sure whether it would be approriate for the Asker's text. The fact it only says 'a steaming load' made me think 'bullshit' might be too much.

For example, if you had to translate 'sugar', which some people say when they don't want to say 'shit', what would you do?

I didn't know that 'bullshit' wasn't particularly offensive in the US.
Charles Davis Sep 22, 2015:
@Helena I know the feeling! As for the answer, it amounts to the same thing. Bullshit means rubbish or nonsense. When you say appropriate, do you mean sufficiently decorous for a public forum? I take the line that we are translators, words are our business, and we should not feel constrained in using them, for legitimate professional purposes, however rude they are. After all, if you're translating expletives you have to use equivalent expletives to do so. It would be quite another matter if I were to use "bullshit!" as a peer comment.

Actually bullshit, in American English, is vulgar but not outstandingly offensive, I would say; less so than "shit" on its own.
Helena Chavarria Sep 22, 2015:
@Charles I hummed and harred a bit before answering and then I was called away before I clicked on 'send'. I'm leaving my answer because I've offered a slightly different solution. I wasn't sure whether 'bulls**t' and 'cr*p' would be appropriate.

Responses

+8
8 mins
Selected

bullshit

A steaming load of bullshit. A rather graphic way of emphasising it. The idea is that freshly excreted bullshit is warm and therefore steams. In other words, nonsense; she didn't believe the professor could do what he claimed.

https://www.google.es/search?num=100&q="a steaming load of b...
Peer comment(s):
agree claude-andrew : Snap!
1 min
Thanks, Claude!
agree Martin Riordan : Particularly on a cold morning...
7 mins
Quite! Thanks, Martin :)
agree Clauwolf
1 hr
Thanks, Clauwolf :)
agree katsy
1 hr
Thanks, katsy :)
agree Jack Doughty
1 hr
Thanks, Jack :)
agree Sheri P : And agree with your discussion comment that "bullshit" is (slightly) less offensive than "shit" in American English.
2 hrs
Thanks very much, Sheri :)
agree Tony M : Or of course just B/S...
7 hrs
Yes indeed, though perhaps the asker wouldn't have understand what it stands for! Thanks, Tony :)
agree Phong Le
1 day 20 hrs
Thanks very much, Phong Le :)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you very much for your help! It really means a lot to me."
+1
10 mins

a heap of fresh excrement

short for "a steaming load of sh*t" (as dropped by a horse or cow for example). Synonyms: crap, bullshit
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher : I think they wanted to avoid saying BS.
13 hrs
Thanks
Something went wrong...
+1
14 mins

a load of rubbish/nonsense

I'm not sure whether my interpretation is appropriate but it might mean this

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/steaming-pile.1948883...
Peer comment(s):
agree Yvonne Gallagher : I think they wanted to avoid saying BS.
13 hrs
That's what I think, too. Thank you, Gallagy :-)
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

a steaming load of manure

a steaming load => a steaming load of manure

a steaming pile of horse manure - GardenWeb
www.forums.gardenweb.com › Garden Forums › Alliums
Nov 10, 2009 - was delivered. i got a 5 yard dump truck load of horse manure not wicked hot but warm enough to produce steam on a 50 degree day and ...

Is Horse Manure Safe For Organic Gardens?
www.santacruzwire.com/.../162-is-horse-manure-safe-for-orga...
SANTA CRUZ - It may be stinky and attract flies, but nothing makes a garden grow like a steaming pile of horse manure. Horse droppings make an excellent ...

HorseAdvice.com Equine & Horse Advice: Manure pile on fire
www.horseadvice.com › ... › Manure management
Jan 19, 2011 - 14 posts - ‎8 authors
If you have a big manure pile they do get very hot in the middle. In Truckee ours always steamed in cold weather and was warm to the touch.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2015-09-23 01:59:56 GMT)
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>So did she believe the professor or not?
No !! She implies that he is full of "it"
Something went wrong...
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