shingle-eating grin, crap-eatin' grin, canary-eatin' grin, sugar-eating grin, crud-eating grin

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Shit-eating grin" is another term that WWII novelists place in the early
'40s.

I'd suggest that the unique "shingle-eating grin" makes absolutely no sense
except as a transparent euphemism.

I have also encountered what I take to be the original concept, to "grin
like a shit-eating dog."

JL

On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 7:20 AM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      shingle-eating grin, crap-eatin' grin, canary-eatin' grin,
>              sugar-eating grin, crud-eating grin
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The OED has the phrase "shit eating grin" with two different senses.
> The earliest cite is in 1956.
> 1956 J. Moffett in New World Writing No. 10. 16 You've got the most
> shit-eating grin I ever saw.
>
> For entertainment and perhaps edification I looked for evidence before
> 1956 by allowing matches for milder expletives, euphemisms, and other
> words. The matches are in GB and are mostly unverified.
>
> In 1949 (not verified) the phrase "shingle-eating grin" is used.
> Perhaps the speaker thought the "shingle" would be more appetizing
> than the "shit" when considering "shit on a shingle". Or maybe it is
> unrelated.
>
> 1949, The American Legion magazine, Volumes 46-47, American Legion
> (Not verified on paper; Probe with 1949 looks ok; GB Volume number matches
> year)
> http://books.google.com/books?id=N7jvAAAAMAAJ&q=shingle#search_anchor
> <Begin excerpt>
> ... a butch haircut, a shy, shingle-eating grin, and a firm conviction
> that no real bullets will be used. The Kid wanders about telling the
> others how different Army life is from life on the farm in Kansas. ...
> <End excerpt>
>
> In 1950 (not verified) the phrase "crap-eatin' grin" was published. So
> this instance might be useful as a bracketed citation.
>
> 1950, The Brother by Feike Feikema, Frederick Feikema Manfred
> (Not verified on paper; Worldcat and library catalog entries agree
> with year of publication)
> <Begin excerpt>
> The two heads looked into the shack again. Thurs asked, "This nest
> yours?" "By God, it talks," the shorter gray-whiskered bum said. "And
> it's givin' with the crap-eatin' grin," the taller brown-whiskered bum
> said.
> <End excerpt>
>
> In 1954 (not verified) the fine phrase "canary-eatin' grin" was printed.
>
> 1954, A Thousand for the Cariboo by Bill Gulick
> (Not verified on paper; Worldcat and library catalog entries agree
> with year of publication)
> http://books.google.com/books?id=4W03AQAAIAAJ&q=canary#search_anchor
> <Begin excerpt>
> "Damn it, Wynn, get that canary-eatin' grin off your face and talk
> plain!" "Well," Wynn said, turning the glass round and round between
> his hands, "it could be Gould would be lucky enough to drive them
> steers across country he's never ...
> <End excerpt>
>
> In 1954 (not verified) "sugar-eating grin" is used in a military
> magazine. Sugar is a common euphemism for shit.
>
> 1954, The Leatherneck: Volume 37
> (Date probe for 1954 looks ok; Volume 37 was 1954 according to a scan
> of December 1954 issue; Issue with quote is unknown)
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=wazvAAAAMAAJ&q=%22sugar-eating%22#search_anchor
> <Begin excerpt>
> After a jumper hits the deck and deflates his chute, he can uncork an
> emotional reaction. Usually, it's a sugar-eating grin. The smiles were
> broader following the second jump. On the third day, the operation hit
> a snag.
> <End excerpt>
>
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