eat my shorts

Popularized by the TV series The Simpsons (1989), where it is a catchphrase of Bart Simpson.

• IPA^(key): /ˈiːt maɪ ˈʃɔːɹts/

• Audio (AU)

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eat my shorts

1. (idiomatic, chiefly US, vulgar) An irreverent rebuke or dismissal.
   • [1977, James P. Leary, The Boys from the Dome […] , page 69:

     Notre Dame boys greeted one another with "Eat It" to be answered by "Eat It Raw" or "Eat a Big One" or "Eat My Shorts," sometimes "Eat My Crusty Shorts."]

   • 1983, Roger Swaybill, Alan Ormsby, Bob Clark, Porky's II: The Next Day (motion picture):

     Mickey: You could be the biggest fairy of them all!
     Meat: Eat my shorts!

   • 1985, John Hughes, The Breakfast Club (motion picture):

     Richard Vernon: You're not fooling anyone, Bender. The next screw that falls out will be you.
     John Bender: Eat my shorts.
     Richard Vernon: What was that?
     John Bender: Eat... My... Shorts.

   • 1988, Greg Matthews, The Gold Flake Hydrant, page 232:

     Her eyes are telling me, "Eat my shorts, you precocious little fart." I definitely haven't made a friend.

   • [1996, Douglas Rushkoff, Media Virus! […] , page 186:

     For instance, Bart often expresses his irreverence toward authority on "The Simpsons" by exclaiming "Eat my shorts."]