25 Comments

I had always thought of "in the weeds" as deep into technical detail" while what you're describing as "in the shit" though both have a derogatory tone. I wonder if I'm using it wrong or if it just varies in context?

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I'm sure it varies. I've certainly heard "in the weeds" describing exactly that, a deep technical wonderland full of weeds that nobody but the person in there understands.

"In the shit" is universal, but "in the weeds" in that same context is very much a restaurant thing, right up there with "86" or "corner!"

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What’s the code for “jizz in this asshole’s food”? 🤣 I know that doesn’t really happen cuz things get too busy but I’m sure it’s thought about.

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Come on, you can't have a code for art!

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I’d always assumed “in the weeds” was a golfing metaphor. Military makes total sense though, if that’s the case.

During collage I worked in a European delicatessen called the Cheese House. We had a twenty foot long cheese counter with cheeses from all over the world. It was mostly pretty fun, but there was this one cheese called vigneron that would make the whole shop stink when you unwrapped it. We all tried to talk people out of trying it, much to the shop owner’s irritation. I will also never forget the time the Scandinavian chef made head cheese (not cheese). Scarred me for life I think 😂

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The golfing thing may have some legs, too - I found *some* examples citing this, but not many.

I am having trauma reactions to those awful smell-memoires! Yikes!

but overall, the cheese shop job sounds pretty cool!

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I worked the closing shift and have never eaten so well in my life😂

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Oh man. I need to tell folks about all those fringe benefits we got. Working in a restaurant when you're broke is not the worst idea in the world!

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Nope, doesn’t entirely make up for the bad pay, but it definitely doesn’t hurt either!

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Like, when you're going to choose between rent, food, utilities, and beer, it's nice to have to worry a little less about the "food" bucket, right?

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Exactly. Especially when you’re in college and time is also in short supply. Getting food and a paycheck all in one place is great.

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Delightful accounf of a phrase at work. At present I prepare most of the meals for my wife and me, I know the steps but the proof of the pudding is in the dance. Love to use the turns of phrase and often use cliches with a slight twist in my writing.

Thanks.

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Malcolm, I cook most of our meals here too! You really don't want to have too many cooks in the dancing room.

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Steps in the planning and execution of the prep.

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I only briefly worked in a commercial kitchen, it’s not something I’d wanna do again, but I so relate to the idea of being in the weeds. It’s something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this week as I’ve met with a few small businesses and solopreneurs on their marketing and branding. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed, specially when you don’t have a clear overall driving vision.

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I keep going back to the Eisenhower Matrix idea, prioritizing things into buckets based on "important" vs "urgent", then putting the pedal to the metal on the important AND urgent things, then focusing on important but not urgent. If not for this conceptualization, I think I'd be lost at sea.

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Somehow I never made the connection between being 'in the weeds' and "waiting to be mowed down'. Fascinating. I always just ran with the being lost part of that concept.

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Sue, did you have a few restaurant jobs along the way?

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No not me. I am a biologist. My first job was as a lab assistant collecting data and managing insect colonies involved in research studies. While it had its very harrowing and challenging moments - nothing like you describe with the human element of hungry people involved.

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Lab assistant work is very tough in its own right.

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Oooof, amazing you did this for 15 years. My own experience in this department is limited to a brief stint at KFC during my high school years, watching "The Bear" on Disney, and playing "Overcooked" with my wife and kids on PS4. That's more than enough stress for me!

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It sucked, right? I mean, there is a very high intrinsic reward for conquering the suck for a bit, but it's really hard work, and I think we'd be better off if more folks understood that.

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