Meaning
What does Shiesty mean?
Shiesty, also known as “Sheisty”, or “Shyster” refers to an untrustworthy, or an unscrupulous person.
The goal of a “Shiesty” person is to gain something for themselves, no matter what. It may involve cheating, lying, sabotaging and sneaking around, as long as it works out well for them.
The worst part about a “Shiesty” person is that they will do all this while smiling and being friendly to your face, so in the worst-case scenario, you won’t notice the damage is done until it’s too late to stop it.
It is similar to the main personality traits of psychopaths.
Origin
What's the origin of Shiesty?
The term stems from another English word “Shyster”, derived from the German word “Scheisser”, meaning “someone who defecates”. Technically, a “Shitter” or a “Shitty Person.”
Hence, in more than one way, the term “Shiesty” or “Shyster” shows similarity to the slang “Bullshitter”, a person who likes messing with people.
The expression is also related to the term “Shifty”, which has been in use in American English since at least 1837. “Shiesty” was first defined shortly after, in 1843.
Since then, the term has spread across the United States, even being adopted by British speakers.
Spread & Usage
How did Shiesty spread?
In 2017, T. N. Baker published his book The Sheisty Saga: Triple Crown Collection, featuring three main characters that start acting really “Shiesty” (by definition) towards each other.
The word “Shiesty” is derived from, “Shyster”, was mentioned in the 1981 comedy film S.O.B, describing the shyster as a disreputable lawyer. Lawyers are commonly stereotyped to be “Sheisty”, along with politicians.
Recently, the term has gained additional popularity, due to the influence of Memphis rapper, Pooh Shiesty, who debuted with his popular single, Hell Night in 2019. Since then, fans of the rapper, as well as curious people online, have increased the search volume of the term by large, spawning a lot of Urban Dictionary entries in the last few years.
Overall, “Shiesty” is an interesting example of how an archaic loanword can be revived by the rise of a popular media personality.
External resources
- Urban Dictionary – Shiesty