Years ago I hosted a German couple for a week in a "friendship" exchange between Dusseldorf and Charleston, WV. Wolfgang's English was better than my German which is non-existent, but I was often unclear how much he understood.

Friends came to supper one night, including my friend George who tended to pepper his speech with the phrases 'no shit', 'straight shit' and 'bullshit.' Wolfgang finally stopped him to ask what he meant. We Americans looked around at each other sheepishly, and then began to try to politely tell him what shit is. He stopped us again. He knew what shit was, he wanted clarification on the differences in meaning of no shit, bullshit and straight shit.

Now, I may be full of shit, but I'm here to tell you, my shit don't stink!

J.