Teocuitlatl, "Divine Excrement": The Significance of "Holy Shit" in Ancient Mexico
In 1984 the American folklorist Alan Dundes published a provocative analysis of German folk sayings about excrement. The book's title, Life Is Like a Chicken Coop Ladder, exemplifies the consistently negative role played by anal excretions in the lore he collected, for it derives from a popular...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | Art journal (New York. 1960) 1993-10, Vol.52 (3), p.20-27 |
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| Format: | Artikel |
| Sprache: | eng |
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| Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
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| Zusammenfassung: | In 1984 the American folklorist Alan Dundes published a provocative analysis of German folk sayings about excrement. The book's title, Life Is Like a Chicken Coop Ladder, exemplifies the consistently negative role played by anal excretions in the lore he collected, for it derives from a popular German expression: "Life is like a chicken (coop) ladder-short and shitty."
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That the word beschissen, or "shitty," is here a metaphor for the hardships and unpleasant trivia that obstruct our rise to success and happiness is made clearer in another version of the same expression: "Life is like a chicken (coop) ladder-A person can't get ahead because of all the shit [in one's way]."
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| ISSN: | 0004-3249 2325-5307 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00043249.1993.10791519 |