Shinola

Shinola

Shinola is a brand of wax shoe polish that was available in the early- to mid-20th century. The original trademark was filed in 1929 by 2-in-1 Shinola-Bixby Corporation, New Jersey. [ [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=71292186&action=Request+Status] USPTO Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval: Trademark Serial Number 71292186] [ [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=71298294&action=Request+Status] USPTO Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval: Trademark Serial Number 71298294]

"You don't know shit from Shinola."

Shinola was immortalized in colloquial English by the phrase "You don't (or he/she doesn't) know shit from Shinola" which first became widely popular during World War II. Aside from being an amusing bit of alliteration, the phrase implies that the subject is stupid or woefully ignorant. Shit and Shinola, while superficially similar in appearance, are entirely distinct in their function; only one is good for polishing shoes, and anyone who fails to distinguish one from the other must be ignorant or of low acuity. Similar expressions include, "doesn't know his ass from his elbow" or Sir Henry Wood's "doesn't know his brass from his woodwind."

Further Reference in Popular Culture

*The 1992 David Lynch film "" includes a memorable demonstration of the phrase, as does the 1979 Carl Reiner film "The Jerk", and Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel "Gravity's Rainbow" includes a lengthy discussion of the phrase.

*More than one band has been named Shinola in reference to the shoe polish.

*In the 1992 film Basic Instinct, the phrase is used.

*On an episode of the black USA TV series 'Good Times', Florida stated, jokingly, "You don't know the difference between shellac and Shinola".

*In the 1979 Steve Martin film "The Jerk", Navin Johnson (Martin) is instructed in the difference between Shit and Shinola by his father (Richard Ward).

*The phrase "You don't know shit from Shinola" was also used in James McBride's "The Color of Water" by the character "Chicken Man" when he is speaking to James (McBride 149).

*An episode of "The Golden Girls", entitled "The Case of the Libertine Belle," makes a reference to the phrase. Rose claims that in her hometown, she was nicknamed the "Sherlock Holmes of St. Olaf." Dorothy promptly asks, "Figured out which one was Shinola, did you, Rose?", to which Rose replies, "The hard way."

*In 2006, Madvillain, an American Hip Hop duo released the song "Figaro," which contains the lyrics "Dead bent, but don't know their neck shine from Shinola."

*Umberto Eco uses phrase based on the traditional usage with some variation in his book, "Foucault's Pendulum". One of his main character's, Beblo, writes in a computer file, "From shit, thus, I extract pure Shinola," referencing the computer's capability to quickly and efficiently turn a messy or unimpressive file into a masterpiece, as opposed to the slower use of a pen.

*Ween's 2005 album titled "Shinola, Vol. 1"

*Dolly Parton's song titled Shinola contains the phrase "You don't know love from Shinola". In some performances, Parton ends the song with the phrase "You don't know love from shoe polish".

*In episode 4.8 of "Night Court", "Contempt of Courting", after an extensive and gratutious flow of compliments from Dan Fielding, Judge Gardner (substituting for vacationing Judge Stone) asks Mac "Is he always such a bootlicker?", and Mac replies "Shinola's Dan's favorite flavor."

References

External links

* [http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/gallery-view?product=shinola Gallery of Vintage Print Advertisements featuring Shinola]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shinola — brand of shoe polish, by 1904, from SHINE (Cf. shine) + OLA (Cf. ola) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Shinola — [ʃʌɪ nəʊlə] noun US trademark a brand of boot polish. Phrases not know (or tell) shit from Shinola vulgar slang be ignorant or innocent. Origin early 20th cent.: from shine + ola (suffix chiefly in US usage) …   English new terms dictionary

  • Shinola (disambiguation) — Shinola may refer to: *Shinola, a brand of shoe polish * Shinola (Energy Orchard album), an album by early 1990s Irish band Energy Orchard * Shinola , Vol. 1, a 2005 album by Ween *Shynola, a group of visual artists from the UK *Shinola (band),… …   Wikipedia

  • Shinola, Vol. 1 — Infobox Album Name = Shinola, Vol. 1 Released = 19 July 2005 Type = Album Recorded = 1990 2005 Genre = Alternative rock Length = 47:34 Label = Chocodog Producer = Andrew Weiss Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p …   Wikipedia

  • Shinola (band) — Infobox musical artist Name = Shinola Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = group or band Alias = Origin = Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Genre = Alternative Post punk Alternative country Years active = 1994 ndash;1997 Label =… …   Wikipedia

  • Shinola (Energy Orchard album) — Infobox Album | Name = Shinola Type = Studio album Artist = Energy Orchard Released = 1993 Recorded = Genre = Rock / Celtic Length = Label = Essential Records Producer = Reviews = Last album = Stop the Machine (1992) This album = Shinola (1993)… …   Wikipedia

  • Shinola (John Scofield album) — Infobox Album | Name = Shinola Type = Live Album Artist = John Scofield Released = 1991 (US) (CD) 1982 (US) (LP) Recorded = Live in Munich, Germany, December 12 13, 1981 Genre = Jazz Length = (CD) Label = Enja Records Producer = Reviews =… …   Wikipedia

  • Shinola — …   Useful english dictionary

  • know shit from Shinola — AND tell shit from Shinola [...Jai”nola] tv. to know what’s what; to be intelligent and aware. (Always in the negative. Shinola is a brand of shoe polish. A person who doesn’t know shit from Shinola is very stupid. See also No Shinola!) □ Poor… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • No Shinola! — [...Jai”nola] exclam. You are kidding!; No shit! (A play on the expression indicating that a stupid person doesn’t know shit from Shinola. Shinola is a brand of shoe polish.) □ So taxes are too high? No Shinola! □ He’s late again? No Shinola! …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

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