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Shafted

Posted by David FG on April 24, 2011 at 07:26

In Reply to: Shafted posted by Victoria S Dennis on April 23, 2011 at 07:50:

: : : Someone just came back from New Orleans. The grave tour stated that when bodies that are stored above ground, naturaly disintergrate the remains are shovelled down into an underground shaft. Hence getting shafted... there may be more versions from different countries. Interesting though.

: : [Come the revolution, there won't be enough lampposts for all the tour guides. - B.]

: Hear, hear, Baceseras! What is it that impels them to make up this rubbish?

: For the verb 'shaft' in the sense 'To treat unfairly or harshly; to cheat, deceive; to take advantage of; to slight, reject' the first citation in the OED is a definition from the journal 'American Speech' for 1959:
: "A raw deal from any other source may also be referred to in this way; for example, one may be *shafted* or *jabbed* by the opposite sex, a professor, a policeman, parents, or anyone else for any real or imagined injury." This implies that the metaphor is of being poked or shoved by something. (VSD)

Indeed. And I can think of at least one rather more graphic phrase that means much the same.

DFG

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