# Pound sand, dopers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343 "2000-07-29T16:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/1 "2000-07-29T16:51:44Z")
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 … ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/2 "2000-07-29T16:53:21Z")
It’s “pound salt,” not sand. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/3 "2000-07-29T17:04:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/4 "2000-07-29T17:06:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/5 "2000-07-29T17:08:20Z")
Interesting. Your post just crossed mine. Now, does the “sand” variant have a different origin, or is it a corruption of the original? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/6 "2000-07-29T17:15:52Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/7 "2000-07-29T17:22:06Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/8 "2000-07-29T17:36:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/9 "2000-07-29T17:42:32Z")
Biblio: When you’ve got a point, you’ve got a point. I plead “no contest” and retire from the field. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pound-sand-dopers/27343/10 "2000-07-29T17:59:11Z")
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.