Sorry about a etymology question, but I’ve done a bit of searching, and can’t find a good answer.
What is the origin of the phrase “pound sand”? You may, of course, make use of the phrase if you feel this is an inappropriate question for this forum …
It’s “pound salt,” not sand.
Try again.
In case you haven’t figured it out, it means “go work in a salt mine.” Not fun.
I remember a few years back “60 Minutes” had a segment about some US small town police official who refused to concede to some request from a Soviet diplomat, despite being egged to cooperate by the US Feds. He told the Rooskies to go “pound salt.” People from all over the USA sent him cartons of table salt as tokens of support for his stance.
Actually, both phrases turn up plenty of usages in google, for instance. Personally, I’ve always heard “pound sand”, which is the way the discussion came up elsewhere, with nobody being able to come up with a definitive answer.
Interesting. Your post just crossed mine. Now, does the “sand” variant have a different origin, or is it a corruption of the original?
I always thought the “pound sand” variation meant, take a hike, take a walk, get lost, etc… as in, “I asked my boss for a raise but he told me to go pound sand.”
My guess is that sand is a corruption of salt.
Here’s a theory: the idea of a salt mine is pretty esoteric in today’s modern world, so perhaps people found it too meaningless to use. They twisted it into the unrelated, but visualizable (is THAT a word?) “pounding sand” – meaning “get lost” – as in “walk away” – as in “let your feet pound the ground as you leave.”
You’re all missing the point. It has nothing to do with salt mines. The full phrase is “Go pound salt (or sand) up your ass.” Sand and salt are both acceptable variants.
Biblio: When you’ve got a point, you’ve got a point.
I plead “no contest” and retire from the field.
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the phrase “go pound sand up your ass.”
In fact, I think it was used Stephen King’s “The Stand”; a character was in prison in the Dark Man’s city (Judge somebody?) and told the guy to “go get a hammer and pound sand up your ass” or something close.