What is the origin of these two familiar expressions/words?

Question

1 - "Pipedream"
ex: "It's just a pipedream"
Meaning: Something that you fantasize about or wish for but is very unlikely to actually happen.

2 - S.H.I.T.
(i.e. excrement)

Answers:
1 - "Pipedream" actually stems from a time before indoor plumbing. To wish or long for indoor plumbing was called a "pipedream".

2 - S.H.I.T actually comes from a time when people used to use animal excrement as fuel. As it was highly combustible it could not be shipped deep within the hulls of vessels for fear of fires and explosions. The containers were thus labeled "S.H.I.T." for "Ship High In Transit" and when people would board the vessls they would comment "Boy it smells like S.H.I.T. in here!". (Crazy but true.)

Note:
I did not request definitions, I asked for origins.

Answer 1

**** is a vernacular word in Modern English denoting feces, the waste byproduct of digestion. It is an old and native English word, but following the Norman Conquest, Norman, Anglo-Norman, French, and Latin terms for many common objects and bodily functions began to be seen as more distinguished than native words, and thereafter feces became the accepted English noun, to defecate became the accepted English verb, and **** was no longer used in polite company. It is therefore a swear word and can be classed as a use of 'slang', for example, "****!" used as an expletive, or in a non-pejorative manner, used as in 'that's the ****' to mean 'that's good'. The term "****" can also be used to describe poor conditions, for example, "This is ****!".

Answer 2

I am not entirely certain but I believe the term "pipedream" was coined to explain opuim use and the dreamlike state that many artists tried to replicate in thier work. I don't think this was a popular term until the late 1800's or early 1900's, when opium use was at an all time high. (pun intended)

And this I have heard before, and although I am not sure how accurate the info, it does make sense. In the days when goods such as spices and other imported goods were carried by ships, they would often carry fertilizer as well. This resulted in a buildup of methane gas in the cargo holds and many ships suffered fatal explosions at sea. After realizing the cause, they began to stamp the words "Ship High In Transit" so that the fertilizers would remain above the holds during shipment.

Answer 3

1- It comes from the fantasy induced by smoking a pipe. Yes, I'm serious.

2- In the days when sailing ships were opening up world trade routes, when commodities such as spices were worth as much as gold, (18th Century??) some ships would carry fertilizer. These ships would periodically explode & be lost at sea, & no one knew why. Once they realised the cause was due to a build up of methane gas in the hold (& probably some sailor with a lantern) they would stamp on the words "Ship High In Transit", so the ferilizer would be lashed to the decks & exposed to the fresh air, avoiding any methane build-up. These words became common in use, and were eventually abrreviated to S.H.I.T., hence the word we use today.

Answer 4

It's believed that the term "pipe dream" developed some time in the late 1800s and refers to the fantastical dreams experienced by people who smoked opium from a pipe - which was quite popular in some circles!

Your second word most probably comes from the Old English "shitten," which meant covered with feces. Because its first syllable is pronounced the same as our shorter word, it's likely that the commonly-used English variation is an abbreviation.

Answer 5

Pipedream...think of looking at something through a pipe...you may be able to focus on a goal, but are unaware of the surrounding factors, and thus unable to account for them, making the realization of the goal improbable.

S-word...courtesy wikipedia
Scholars trace the word back to Old Norse origin (skīta), and it is virtually certain that it was used in some form by preliterate Germanic tribes at the time of the Roman Empire. It was originally adopted into Old English as scitte, eventually morphing into Middle English schītte. The word may be further traced to Proto-Germanic *skit-, and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *skheid-, "split, divide, separate" (cf. Lithuanian šūdas ["****"]). Conceptually, it refers to that part of the body (the excrement), which is "divided" from the rest of the body. It is related to the verb "to shed" (as in, "to shed one's skin"),

Answer 6

A Pipedream is a desired goal that will take some extra effort to achieve,but is not necessarily in obtainable. 2.S.h.i.t.; A not so cute way to say ;sugar,Honey,ice,tea

Answer 7

According to dictionary.com, "pipe dream" comes from "the fantasies induced by smoking a pipe of opium."

You can also check dictionary.com for the etymology of s.h.i.t, but it's basically a normal derivation of an Old English word.

Answer 8

A Pipe-dream is the sort of improbably fantasy one has while smoking opium.

S.H.I.T. not an acryonym. It is related to the verb shed, as to separate from the body. Old English, spelled scitte as in purging.

Answer 9

pipedream may refer to the pipe waves that surfers find very challenging. So they may dream of surfing one well.

Answer 10

pipe dream: Alluding to the fantasies induced by smoking an opium pipe, this term has been used more loosely since the late 1800s.
s h i t:
an very old Indogermanic word