2 definitions by topcat1957
1. Everything, excluding nothing; everything with all the trimmings. A similar meaning as the phrase "lock, stock, and barrel".
2. (older meaning) A drinking establishment for the poor; a tavernous shanty.
Some suspect it to have originated as Irish siebin "small mug, cheap ale", which entered English as shebeen "a dive, a dump where unlicensed liquor is sold". In 1878 shebang was used to refer to the same sort of place, but it was also being used as a general term for almost any kind of business, as 'to sell your shebang for cash on the barrel head'. By the 1920s the phrase "the whole shebang" began appearing.
2. (older meaning) A drinking establishment for the poor; a tavernous shanty.
Some suspect it to have originated as Irish siebin "small mug, cheap ale", which entered English as shebeen "a dive, a dump where unlicensed liquor is sold". In 1878 shebang was used to refer to the same sort of place, but it was also being used as a general term for almost any kind of business, as 'to sell your shebang for cash on the barrel head'. By the 1920s the phrase "the whole shebang" began appearing.
by topcat1957 February 13, 2016
It is one of the oldest tricks in the book to make a purposeful misrepresentation of another person's position and then arguing against the fictitious position, knocking it down. It is the straw man rhetorical fallacy.
Man 1 sets up a weak position and attributes it to Man 2, then attacks the weak position; like setting up and fighting a straw man, easily knocking it down. Then the opponent, Man 2 is drawn into defending himself against the misrepresentations, and Man 1 doesn't have to talk about his opponents actual position.
Man 1 sets up a weak position and attributes it to Man 2, then attacks the weak position; like setting up and fighting a straw man, easily knocking it down. Then the opponent, Man 2 is drawn into defending himself against the misrepresentations, and Man 1 doesn't have to talk about his opponents actual position.
Mary began lecturing John about the benefits of immigration for our country after John spoke in favor of building a wall along the border. But Mary was fighting a straw man because John is actually in favor of legal immigration; he just wants it done in an orderly manner so the drug cartels cannot easily cross the border undetected.
by topcat1957 March 9, 2016