# Go pound salt

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 28, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464 "2003-07-28T17:24:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47774/32.png) [@LV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LV)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/1 "2003-07-28T17:24:22Z")

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Where did the phrase “go pound salt” originate? I can’t find a reference to it on the internet and the phrase book I have doesn’t mention it. Will someone please point me in the right direction or should I just “go pound salt”?

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**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/2 "2003-07-28T17:35:11Z")

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You’re familiar with the fuller form of the phrase?

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**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/3 "2003-07-28T17:37:34Z")

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I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ve always been told to ‘go pound sand’, not ‘go pound salt’.

Google had 1300 hits for ‘go pound sand’, but only 436 hits for ‘go pound salt’. I would assume that the latter is probably derived from the former.

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**Author:** ![LV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47774/32.png) [@LV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LV)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/4 "2003-07-28T17:53:04Z")

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What is the fuller phrase? If it is another form of “doesn’t have enough sense to pound sand in a rathole” then I have my answer. But why would the word sand be replaced with salt? Did/do people pound salt down a rathole?

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**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/5 "2003-07-28T17:58:25Z")

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The complete phrase is ‘go pound sand up your ass’ or ‘go pound sand up you ass with a mallett’.

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**Author:** ![LV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47774/32.png) [@LV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LV)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/6 "2003-07-28T18:22:41Z")

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Ok, so it’s a stupid phrase, but where did it come from? Are we talking about two different phrases here or yet another variation?

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-pound-salt/191464/7 "2003-07-29T01:36:05Z")

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[http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorp.htm#Pound](http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorp.htm#Pound)

At least give a cite.