hit the fan
English
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hit the fan
Where it comes from
Uncertain. Possibly derived from an old joke:
A man in a crowded bar needed to defecate but couldn't find a bathroom, so he went upstairs and used a hole in the floor. Returning, he found everyone had gone except the bartender, who was cowering behind the bar. When the man asked what had happened, the bartender replied, 'Where were you when the shit hit the fan?' Other possible sources include American or Canadian military slang or agricultural manure spreaders.
verb hits the fan · hitting the fan · hit the fan
- To have a dramatic, usually negative, effect. They were just clowning around, when suddenly it all hit the fan.
Talk about this word "hit the fan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hit%20the%20fan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hit the fan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hit%20the%20fan "hit the fan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hit%20the%20fan.Cite this
@misc{hit_the_fan_2026,
title = {hit the fan},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hit%20the%20fan},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
