Editing Shit (section)

===Emphasis===
Perhaps the only constant [[connotation]] that ''shit'' reliably carries is that its referent holds some degree of emotional intensity for the speaker. Whether offense is taken at hearing the word varies greatly according to listener and situation, and is related to age and [[social class]]: [[elderly]] speakers and those of (or aspiring to) higher [[socioeconomic]] strata tend to use it more privately and selectively than younger and more [[blue-collar]] speakers.

Like the word ''[[fuck]]'', ''shit'' is often used to add emphasis more than to add meaning, for example, ''shit! I was so shit-scared of that shithead that I shit-talked him into dropping out of the karate match!'' The term ''to [[trash-talk|shit-talk]]'' connotes bragging or exaggeration (whereas ''to talk shit'' primarily means ''to gossip [about someone in a damaging way]'' or to talk in a boastful way about things which are erroneous in nature), but in such constructions as the above, the word ''shit'' often functions as an [[interjection]].

The exclamation ''holy shit'' derives its force from the juxtaposition of the sacred with the profane.

Unlike the word ''fuck'', ''shit'' is not used emphatically with ''-ing'' or as an infix. For example; ''I lost the shitting karate match'' would be replaced with ''...the{{nbsp}}fucking karate match''. Similarly, while ''in-fucking-credible'' is generally acceptable, ''in-shitting-credible'' is not.