- 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 ofalliteration , 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 1979Carl Reiner film "The Jerk", andThomas 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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