Bent out of shape
What is the meaning of the phrase "get bent"?
"Get bent! -- I despise you!" From "Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang" by Tom Dalzell (Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Mass., 1996).
That's kind of weak, isn't it. "Get bent" means go get a penile injury. Doesn't it fellows?
As a fellow, I agree it's rather flaccid, but how would I know?
Here in the NE part of the US of A I have always used and heard that phrase in two different but related ways.
One way is to use "bent" as a word to mean drunk or high as in "I was so bent last night I don't remember a thing".
Another way "bent" is used is to castigate or criticize someone who makes a dumb remark as in "Whadaya talkin' about, you're nuts, get bent will ya".
Outta here!I always thought that "Get bent!" arose from the earlier phrase "Don't get all bent outta shape, willya?". Whether either phrase (or both) has anything to penile injury, I have no idea, but it's lamentable how frequently the subject of genitals rears its ugly head.
Head? No pun intended, right? :)
I hadn't heard "Get bent!," but, as an insult, it isn't very plausibly construed as a descendant of "Don't get bent out of shape." The latter means calm down, don't react so angrily/bitterly/haughtily/whatever. "Get bent," if derived from that, would be a command to get mad.
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- Bent ESC 10/19/02