I had always understood the expression to be “glad to be shed of X” (as in, “I was glad to be shed of the responsibility of having employees”).
However, I have sometimes seen the same expression rendered “I was glad to be shut of X.”
Now, the first one makes more sense to me. And my limited googling skills turned up an 1871 book entitled The Hoosier Schoolmaster, which contains this passage:
Mystery solved, I thought. But further googling turned up a 1919 work, The Burning Spear, which uses the other expression, thusly:
So which is it? Which was the original phrase? What was its origin? (And can anyone find earlier examples of either?)
It seems like either variant is acceptable in the US, along with “shot of”.
OED
“shed of”, “shet of”
repr. a U.S. dial. and colloq. pronunc. of SHUT. v. and ppl. a., esp. in phrase to get (be, stay) shet of.
1837 A. SHERWOOD Gazetteer of State of Georgia (ed. 3) 70/1 Get shet of, for get rid of. 1848, etc. 1871 E. EGGLESTON Hoosier School-Master (1872) xxxii. 162 I’m glad to be shed of you!
“shut of”
To set (a person) free from, relieve of (something troublesome). Obs. exc. in passive (dial. and colloq.) to be, get shut of, (dial.) shut on, to shut one’s hands of: to be rid of, free from;
1500 Chester Pl. (1847) II. 31 Though he have healed thee, Shute from us shall he not be. Ibid. 33 To shutte hym of his dangere. 1575-6 Durham Depos. (Surtees) 312 This examinate promised…that he wold marye the said Grace…so that he might be shutt of the promises he hadd maid to one Marian Raic. 1596 NASHE Saffron Walden To Rdr. D3, Doo what I can, I shall not be shut of him.
“shot of”
colloq. (orig. dial.). In passive, to be rid of.
1802 R. ANDERSON Cumbld. Ball. (c 1850) 47 He’d gi’e aw his gear to get shot o’ the gout. 1818 SCOTT Br. Lamm. xxxii, Are you not glad to be fairly shot of him!
The expression itself seems to have evolved from the older meaning of “shut” meaning to separate, hence to be shut of something is to be separated from it. So I guess that makes “shut of” slightly more correct, but all 3 or 4 forms are considered colloqial or dialaletic by the OED, so take your pick.
I’ve never heard the usage SHUT of. I’ve heard the *SHED * version, but usually as a reflexive construction…“He wants to shed himself of that responsibility”.
I don’t think I’d have even offered either ‘shed of’ or ‘shut of’ as possibilities - although it’s possible I’ve sometimes misheard the latter as ‘shot of’.