get shed of

get shed of pronunciation

/git SHED uhv/

Meaning

Unload it, ditch it, be done with it. Junk in the barn, a clingy cousin, a truck that nickel-and-dimes you to death. Rural Southern and Appalachian talk for "get rid of." You also hear get shet of and get shut of, same idea with different mouth shapes.

How folks use it

• “I finally got shed of that old couch that smelled like wet dog.”
• “We need to get shed of these tires before the county notices the pile.”

Origin and etymology

Older English had "get shut of" meaning free yourself from something troublesome. In U.S. dialect the vowel often slid toward "shed" or "shet" (noted in Georgia by 1837). "Shed" also echoes casting off, like an animal shedding. Either way, mountain and rural Southern speech kept the phrase while school English preferred "get rid of."

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