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shit disturber
DCHP-3 (Feb 2023)
Spelling variants:shit-disturber
n. — Informal, also derogatory
a person who enjoys causing trouble or discord.
Type: 5. Frequency — Shit disturber is a Canadian term by virtue of frequency (see Chart 1), occurring -- similar to rig pig -- with widely varying connotations. To some, the meaning of shit disturber carries attributes of "antisocial" or "harmful" (see the 1972 or 2015 quotations). To others, shit disturber is used in tones of admiration or pride (see the 1989 and both 2022 quotations). Many also use it more matter-of-factly (see the 1987 and 2007 quotations), usually employing gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice.
Shit disturber may also be shifting in register. Some have labelled it as "coarse slang" (see COD-2), though lately it has been used in curating social media profiles (see Image 1); it has even appeared in an invitation to a provincial meeting of healthcare professionals (see the second 2022 quotation). This indicates a gradual amelioration from "coarse" to merely "informal".
See also OED-3, s.v. "shit-disturber" ("shit" C2) marked as "Canadian", and COD-2, which marks the term "Cdn coarse slang".
Shit disturber may also be shifting in register. Some have labelled it as "coarse slang" (see COD-2), though lately it has been used in curating social media profiles (see Image 1); it has even appeared in an invitation to a provincial meeting of healthcare professionals (see the second 2022 quotation). This indicates a gradual amelioration from "coarse" to merely "informal".
See also OED-3, s.v. "shit-disturber" ("shit" C2) marked as "Canadian", and COD-2, which marks the term "Cdn coarse slang".
See: rig pig
Quotations
1972
However a recent occurrence has aroused my curiosity to the extent that I may now have to acknowledge myself as a latent shit-disturber. You see Grant Burnyeat, our esteemed AMS Prez, was recently seen eating at the prestigious Faculty Club along with a date and two other couples.
1975
Evans said he does not know whether publicity will harm his future career.
"If I go to another institution the people there may say this guy looks like a shit disturber," he said.
However he said he hasn't seriously considered whether this will actually happen and will rely on Hall's judgment.
1987
On a Friday afternoon last June, the second-last business day before the merger was scheduled to have been finalized, the salesmen and traders decided to raid a small fridge stocked with beer that the traders had stashed near the trading room floor. "There was a lot of gallows humor," recalls the mustached 42-year-old Pennock, who's a self-described "shit- disturber." Suddenly at 2 p.m. the head of the fixed income and equities division, Wayne Fox, walked onto the floor with an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, the merger's off."
1989
"She's like Sandra (Hargreaves, his former vice-president for sales at Penguin Canada, now president): a shit disturber. She won't be intimidated by me. She brings out the best in people, wants to get things moving.
1996
He exhorted the crowd to rise against the bourgeois oppressors and join in the class struggle for social justice, and dumped all over Bouchard's speech for its abject timidity.
``He was an activist,'' said Meighen of his days in student politics, ``but he wasn't a shit-disturber.''
Thirty years later, the Yes referendum drive seemed headed for ignominious defeat until Bouchard revitalized it by insisting it be repackaged in a new Quebec-Canada partnership proposition.
1998
It is impossible to describe what Mr. O'Neill does in a word, because that word does not exist. He refuses to be pigeonholed. He is researcher, advocate, therapist, peddler of potential cures, shit disturber and friend. He is, emphatically, not a doctor.
2006
Said another "He can come in and have the march and then he leaves. The rest of us have to live here. Obviously, he has mental issues. Excuse my language, but he's just another shit-disturber from out of town."
2007
"The words are so darned ordinary. But it's important to convey to people that language is not dry and dull. My favourite Canadian word is 'shit- disturber' - not a characteristic one associates with Canadians."
2009
You're a shit disturber, here's your degree; get lost!
University gives student unearned credits, grants degree and kicks her off-campus
2015
During training in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Castellan was viewed as a "shit disturber" for refusing to do the dishes -- a task he had unknowingly volunteered himself for.
2022
This brings us to "The Pauser" (Paul Lafleur), a Sportstalk creation who, without debate, is the most popular caller in the history of Vancouver talk radio. He and I made great radio together, both instinctively knowing our roles. The Pauser was the shit-disturber and I was the pawn master. He was so popular that even Don Taylor, who had briefly taken over my CKNW time-slot, once invited The Pauser as a guest and asked him how he got his nickname.
References
Images
Image 1: Popular Québécois comedian's Twitter bio includes description of self as shit disturber.
