Talk:crap

Crap out
I'm seeing Britishisms, but what about the Americanism 'crap out', which means "to fail"? (As in an engine or device, or any other animate object/agent.) There is also an American phrase 'crap on', which means "to deride" (or disparage). (Notably, the first term refers to the sense of 'useless' or 'failed' and can be substituted by "conk out", but the second phrase is a euphemism for the very vulgar term "shit on".) Since the meanings of the British and American colloquialisms are utterly different I think it's appropriate to include them both on the page. 98.180.8.57 09:34, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

In My Humble Opinion...
People need to use the discussion pages more!--STUFF2o 19:59, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

usage in the dice game
Can anyone confirm the usage of the singular when used to mean "a losing throw of 2, 3 or 12 in craps"? I have only ever heard that referred to as "craps". Rossami 23:40, 14 March 2008 (UTC)


 * As far as I know, that meaning is only craps, never crap. —Stephen 00:54, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Tea room discussion - sizeable and sizable
What does this etymology mean by "Anglo-Latin"? Thryduulf 20:34, 16 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I would guess that it means it comes from a Latin word known only from the British Isles. --EncycloPetey 20:36, 16 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Apparently, the term is used to refer to the Anglo-Saxon-influenced ecclesiastical Latin used in Britain from the arrival of Augustine in 597AD through 1066, though at least one author puts an end date of 1422. Apparently it has had influence on British legal Latin. But as far as etymology goes, EP's probably correct. Our appendix of Webster 1913 abbreviations doesn't show any abbreviation, so perhaps W didn't use it. The term Anglo Latin also doesn't appear in the Onelook dictionaries' etymologies for "crap", though the word does. OED? Scholarly research? DCDuring TALK 21:33, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

RFC discussion: August 2010
Isn't this mostly or entirely uncountable in main etymology. The senses and glosses are mostly not so worded. DCDuring TALK 11:45, 26 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Also Derived terms and Synonyms don't seem properly matched to etymologies and properly located. DCDuring TALK 11:47, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Etymology in the context of defecation
I am fairly sure that the term "crap", when used as a synonym for feces (noun) or defecate (verb) did not exist with that usage in the English language before Thomas Crapper's invention of the flush toilet.

It was common then, as it may be today, to refer to products by their brand name, for example "I'll drive the Ford to the store" or "put the food in the Frigidaire" or the more modern "Xerox this for me". Likewise, with the sentence "I have to use the Crapper" (referring to the brand), the word "crapper" (a noun made from a verb by appending "-er") can easily jump to a new meaning associated with what one does when sitting on the toilet.

This entry doesn't address the etymology in that context, although the entry for crapper does mention it. ~Anachronist (talk) 19:26, 30 March 2023 (UTC)


 * Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, despite the popular folk etymology. The OED's citations for "crap" in these senses, both as a verb and a noun, go back to 1846 when Crapper was 10 years old, so it's not related to his fixtures. —Al-Muqanna المقنع (talk) 17:05, 31 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the clarification. ~Anachronist (talk) 19:03, 31 March 2023 (UTC)