# Meaning of "Git 'R Done"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 19, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788 "2005-08-19T19:02:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/1 "2005-08-19T19:02:11Z")

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Last week, I left the urbane and hoity-toity environs of Washington, DC for a little vacation in areas that were a bit more rustic. I noticed a popular trend of t-shirts and hats that featured variations on the phrase, “get 'er done,” very often in conjunction with the Confederate flag.

What on earth is the meaning of this? I’m assuming that it’s some kind of Southern pride catch phrase, but I can’t quite grasp it. Is “get 'r done” the 21st century version of “the South will rise again,” or is it a more generic phrase that is now being taken to new meanings by associating it with the Confederacy?

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**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/2 "2005-08-19T19:07:44Z")

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[Larry the Cable Guy](http://www.larrythecableguy.com/)

He is the one member of the Blue Colar Comedy Tour guys that I don’t care for.

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**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/3 "2005-08-19T19:08:52Z")

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A quick Google search leads me tyo believe it’s a Larry the Cable Guy reference, from the TV show Blue Collar.

It’s a redneck thing… you just won’t understand.

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**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/4 "2005-08-19T19:10:38Z")

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Beat ya. 😃

Please insert a lowercase L anywhere in my preceding post that seems appropriate.

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**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/5 "2005-08-19T19:11:11Z")

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The comedian “Larry The Cable Guy” uses “Git 'r done” as a catchphrase. It’s not in-and-of-itself racists, but rather a kind of redneck “Just Do It!” (the Nike catchphrase?)

Others may have co-opted the “Git 'r done” phrase for their own use.

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/6 "2005-08-19T19:51:25Z")

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Funny story:

About a year ago I’m at my mother-in-law’s house in the woods in southeastern Missouri. Redneck central. My MIL and her side of the family are cultured, polite, educated people, but they’re still into huntin’ and mud-boggin’ and whatnot.

Anyway, one Saturday morning I walk into the dining room at MIL’s house and my wife, my MIL, and MIL’s mother and father are sitting there doing this-n-that. MIL says, “Hey there’s going to be mud bogs today. You should go to that.” I politely told MIL that mudbogs weren’t quite my thing and I’d just watch TV instead. MIL tells me, “You’re gonna have to get into mudbogs and things like that if you’re going to marry into this redneck family!” Then, without missing a beat, MIL and the three other people at the table all said, in unison, “ **Git R Done!** ”

[/funny story]

For my money, “Git R Done” is a nonsense saying that means something along the lines of “do what you have to do.” For example:

LARRY: What do you want to do this afternoon?  
JEFF: How about going fishing?  
LARRY: Git R Done!

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**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/7 "2005-08-19T21:30:59Z")

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> [@ExTank](#):
>
> The comedian “Larry The Cable Guy” uses “Git 'r done” as a catchphrase. It’s not in-and-of-itself racists, but rather a kind of redneck “Just Do It!” (the Nike catchphrase?).

“not in-and-of-itself” racist? Is it in any way racist? Does it have racist connotations? Does race have any role in the conversation, other than the fun we can have making assumptions that are themselves stereotypes?

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**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\
**Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/8 "2005-08-19T21:39:11Z")

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> [@furt](#):
>
> “not in-and-of-itself” racist? Is it in any way racist? Does it have racist connotations? Does race have any role in the conversation, other than the fun we can have making assumptions that are themselves stereotypes?

Chill the fuck out, PC Nazi. **Ravenman** asked if it was connected in any way with the Confederacy or “The South Shall Rise Again,” two things often associated with racism. I was just assuring him that in it’s “original incarnation” as a comedian’s catch-phrase it wasn’t rooted in either of those.

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**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/9 "2005-08-20T00:49:33Z")

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Maybe I’m exposing my rural Tennessee roots, but how hard is “git r done” to understand. It’s not like it’s a secret “nudge nudge wink wink” handshake. Sometimes things are exactly as they seem.

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**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/10 "2005-08-20T00:55:06Z")

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It is from the John Wayne movie Rio Grande…it is said to Wayne’s son in the movie.

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**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/11 "2005-08-20T03:18:28Z")

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> [@ExTank](#):
>
> Chill the fuck out, PC Nazi. **Ravenman** asked if it was connected in any way with the Confederacy or “The South Shall Rise Again,” two things often associated with racism. I was just assuring him that in it’s “original incarnation” as a comedian’s catch-phrase it wasn’t rooted in either of those.

I’m quite chilled; I’m just annoyed that you felt it neccessary to defend it from a suggestion that was never made. ISTM rather like someone asking where the term “homies” came from, and getting the answer that “it is not in and of itself associated with drug dealing.”

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**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/12 "2005-08-20T03:37:48Z")

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Colorado here. I never thought It meant anything but “let’s go”. We have a job to do.

Work. Get it done.

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**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/13 "2005-08-20T03:52:10Z")

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> [@flickster](#):
>
> Maybe I’m exposing my rural Tennessee roots, but how hard is “git r done” to understand. It’s not like it’s a secret “nudge nudge wink wink” handshake. Sometimes things are exactly as they seem.

If it were a bumper sticker, absent any other context, I would simply wonder, “Get WHAT done?”

But literally every place I saw it, save but one, it was associated with a Confederate flag. (The one exception was a t-shirt that had a Playboy bunny head logo, the word “PLAYGIRL,” and then “Get Er Done” written in script below that. I still can’t figure that one out.) Anyway, the correlation of that catchphrase and the stars and bars strikes me as odd (though I’m not a particular fan of Confederate nostalgia anyway; YMMV).

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**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/14 "2005-08-20T05:40:09Z")

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> [@ExTank](#):
>
> Chill the fuck out, PC Nazi.

**ExTank** , your comment is out of line for GQ.

Please do not repeat this. Thanks.

- **xash**  
General Questions Moderator

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**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/15 "2005-08-20T07:18:06Z")

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Its along the lines of “Narf!” by Pinky… it has no point… or set definition… so you can use it whenever you wish.

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/16 "2005-08-20T14:46:19Z")

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When I was fresh out of high school, I heard the phrase used on construction jobs. As in we would be talking about what needed to be done, and how much we could finish in a particular amount of time. More than once, I heard "Let’s git 'r done and go home. or words to that effect.  
In other words, lets bust our hump for a specified amount of time, and then knock off / move on to the next item.  
This was long before LTCG.

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/17 "2005-08-20T15:22:23Z")

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> [@flickster](#):
>
> Maybe I’m exposing my rural Tennessee roots, but how hard is “git r done” to understand.

It’s pretty cryptic to me, when I try to parse it similarly to “Toys R Us.”

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**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/18 "2005-08-20T17:53:34Z")

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> [@flickster](#):
>
> Maybe I’m exposing my rural Tennessee roots, but how hard is “git r done” to understand. It’s not like it’s a secret “nudge nudge wink wink” handshake. Sometimes things are exactly as they seem.

In and of itself the phrase isn’t hard to understand. Used in a conversation, like in **Rick’s** example, it’s pretty obvious - and that’s how most people would figure to use it.

However, when I start seeing hats, shirts, bumper stickers and such with this catchphrase everywhere, then find out it’s associated with Larry the Cable Guy more questions arise. How is this associated with this guy? Is it a punchline? How on earth could it be a punchline? Does it reference a specific comedy bit? What the hell is going on?

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**Author:** ![twhitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@twhitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twhitt)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/19 "2005-08-20T18:08:10Z")

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I had always assumed it was less tactful than that. “Get [her] done,” or something to that effect. This really has nothing to do with it?

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**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788/20 "2005-08-20T21:28:04Z")

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> [@Meeko](#):
>
> Its along the lines of “Narf!” by Pinky… it has no point… or set definition… so you can use it whenever you wish.

“Are you pondering what I’m pondering, Larry?”

“I reckon so, Brain. But last time I tried to have sex with a pick up, I damn near circumcised myself.”

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-git-r-done/317788.md?page=2)
