The other day I said to my coworker Brenda, “Then you’d really be up Turd Creek without a paddle!”
“Well, that’s a new way of putting it!” she replied.
I asked her what she meant and she said that she’d never heard that term before. She is from New Jersey, though, so I figured that this was a regional saying.
Then I dropped it on the in-laws last weekend. Mark and Marian laughed at my remark, but I was being serious. They, too, had not heard of Turd Creek. Like Brenda, they’ve heard of “Up a creek…” but not specifically Turd Creek.
I got this term from my Dad. I googled it though and there was almost nothing on it. My dad’s family is from Alabama, so I’m wondering if it’s a Southern thing. I think it’s a much more effective saying than plain, “up a creek without a paddle.” Whoopie do. You’re up a creek without a paddle. Just use your arms, fool!
But if I found myself up TURD Creek, I’d be more concerned. Not dipping my arms into that water! If THAT doesn’t mean stranded, I don’t know what does.
So, has anyone else out there heard this term before? Or is this a “Tom Teague Special”?
