Derisive, North American vulgarims with 2 shades of meaning:
A) Archaic (WWII-era) army slang for someone whose brand of shit was too small-minded and lame to be called bullshit or horseshit. This was typically an obnoxious, petty tyrant of an officer, particularly the kind who liked to push people around with made-up rules and regulations. Best exemplified in popular culture by the character of
Frank Burns on
M.A.S.H.
B) A coward; basically calling them chicken, with a 4-letter word
tacked on for emphasis.
(Please note that these two definitions CAN overlap.)
A) "All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call 'chicken shit drilling'." - George S. Patton, 1944
B) "That's a good answer, Wykowski. It's a chickenshit answer, but it's a good one." - Christopher Walken as Sgt.
Merwin J.
Toomey, "
Biloxi Blues," 1988
