is for shit

[VicNicSor]

Jess's family has just moved to the countryside. In town, she gets to know a guy during a street baseball game in which he's participating. She makes a throw and it goes into the basket, then she says to him that she used to play the game.
GUY: Well, the girls' team here is for shit. [then throws the ball but misses the basket]
JESS: Yeah, boys' is too, if you're on it.
The Messengers, movie

Does he mean "stand for"?

STAND FOR
be an abbreviation of or symbol for

Thanks.

 

[Florentia52]

No. "For shit" is a set phrase meaning "very bad."

 

[Egmont]

"is for shit" is an expression that means somewhere between "isn't very good" and "is very bad," depending on context.

Cross-posted.

 

[VicNicSor]

Thank you, both.

But what does particularly "for" mean in this expression? Why not just "the girl's team here is shit"?

 

[Florentia52]

You could say "the girls' team is shit," but it might sound a bit odd, since "for shit" is so common (at least in AE). Also, to my ears, saying something "is shit" is much coarser and more derogatory than saying "it's for shit."

As to the exact derivation of the expression and the reason we use "for," I can't say.

 

[VicNicSor]

You could say "the girls' team is shit," but it might sound a bit odd, since "for shit" is so common (at least in AE). Also, to my ears, saying something "is shit" is much coarser and more derogatory than saying "it's for shit."

As to the exact derivation of the expression and the reason we use "for," I can't say.

I see, thank you.

 

[Loob]

In BrE, it would be just "is shit", not "is for shit", Vic.

I don't know if that helps....

 

[VicNicSor]

In BrE, it would be just "is shit", not "is for shit", Vic.

I don't know if that helps....

Perhaps an AE/BE difference Thank you.

 

[thetazuo]

Hi. Is it correct to say “My English is for shit” (=My English is very bad)? Thank you.

 

[owlman5]

You could say "the girls' team is shit," but it might sound a bit odd, since "for shit" is so common (at least in AE). Also, to my ears, saying something "is shit" is much coarser and more derogatory than saying "it's for shit."

As to the exact derivation of the expression and the reason we use "for," I can't say.

Hi. Is it correct to say “My English is for shit” (=My English is very bad)? Thank you.

Florentia seems familiar with it, thetazuo, so maybe she or another speaker who regularly hears or uses that version will be able to clear things up for you. The English that Florentia hears in Wisconsin is markedly different from the English I hear in Colorado. I have friends who moved out here years ago from Wisconsin, but I don't recall hearing either of them use "for shit" this way. Florentia should be able to tell you how common the expression is in her part of the country.

You can't shoot for shit is the only type of construction that I regularly hear "for shit" in. The team is for shit is very easy to understand, but it isn't anything I've heard any of my friends say. I don't watch a lot of sports, so maybe I'm just out of touch with people in situations where a phrase like that would be likely.

 

[Steven David]

But what does particularly "for" mean in this expression? Why not just "the girl's team here is shit"?

Of course, it's correct with "for" and without "for".

The meaning is only slightly different with "for". The same message is conveyed or received with "for" and without "for".

I would say that using "for" in this sentence is more emphatic than without "for".

We use "for" to speak of "something that is used or "consumed" by something else".

So by saying, "the girl's team here is for shit", it's like saying "shit uses or consumes the girl's team". That's where the girls team goes. It sounds grotesque and strange though that is what it means.

By not using "for", the speaker is only saying that "the team is shit", not that "shit uses or consumes the team".

So, again, I would say that using "for" in this sentence is more emphatic and adds just a bit more resentment to the speaker's tone in expressing this thought or idea. I say resentment because someone who says something like this thinks very poorly of this team.

 

[Spotter68]

Here's an example from "Hooligans" by William Diehl:

<-----Excess quote removed by moderator (Florentia52)----->
Stick took out a pair of handcuffs and twisted Donleavy rudely around. "Normally we would not need these," he said quietly into Donleavy's ear as he snapped on the cuffs. "It was a mistake, doing that thing with my hat. Your manners are for shit."

 

[Enquiring Mind]

I'd say "for shit" is primarily AmE usage. In BrE we'd say "your manners are shit" (as Loob noted in #7). In my experience, many AmE speakers tend to be more scatological than BrE speakers in their day-to-day colloquial shit (BrE: way of speaking), but that may be just my shit (BrE opinion), and maybe I don't know shit (BrE: anything).