# Get Bent?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 30, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647 "2003-12-30T00:04:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/1 "2003-12-30T00:04:33Z")

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Okay, this has been bothering me for a while. I know that telling someone to “get bent” is a harsh, bordering on offensive way of expressing extreme displeasure towards them.

But what, exactly, does it mean? From whence does this bizarre order come?

Was it groundbreaking the first time someone said “Oh, get bent!” on primetime television, or was it as much a non-event as if they’d said “You jerk, get outta my face!” instead?

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/2 "2003-12-30T02:37:22Z")

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WAG: The phrase “don’t get bent out of shape” meant relax, take it easy, chill. So if you wished the opposite on the person, you tell them to “get bent” instead.

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/3 "2003-12-30T03:26:46Z")

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My understanding of the term was as in “bent over and f\*cked”. So “get bent” is short hand and not as obvious.

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**Author:** ![radar\_ralf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@radar\_ralf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar_ralf)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/4 "2003-12-30T03:38:43Z")

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I popularized this phrase back in the mid-60s at Fort Hays State University.

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**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/5 "2003-12-30T07:02:11Z")

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My interpretation of the phrase was along the lines of **ShibbOleth’s**.

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**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/6 "2003-12-30T12:47:27Z")

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Gee, I always thought it was wishing that the target’s male gentalia would become crooked.

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-bent/221647/7 "2003-12-31T07:39:01Z")

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“bent” is (or was in the 1930’s-1950’s) a common synonym for gay or homosexual. (There is a famous play titled Bent about gay prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps.)

So saying “get bent” would mean “go gay”, which would probably be considered offensive by many people (especially homophobic ones).