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shit will hit the fan, the

shit will hit the fan, the idiom

Also, when or then the shit hits the fan. There will be major trouble, often following the disclosure of a piece of information. For example, When they find out they were firing on their own planes, the shit will hit the fan. This idiom calls up the graphic image of feces spread by a rapidly revolving electric fan. [Vulgar slang; c. 1930]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.