Opening
phrase of choice for stories swapped at
wilderness medicine training sessions. Such stories usually involve
puncture wounds, dislocated
limbs, and all manner of
thrilling and
nauseating
details of
injury, improvised
medical treatment, and
rescue. Usually told over
lunch.
Journalist Michael Hodgson has used this title for his 1994 anthology of outdoor adventure tales highlighting the mishaps and stupidity of raft guides and thrillseekers in the backcountry. ISBN: 0934802971.
The phrase is also used by skydivers and the military, to introduce stories of mishaps.
Grammatically, it would appear that the sentence is answering the query, "No shit?" or "Are you shitting me?" However, the phrase has become canonical in the subcultures in which it is used, in the same manner as "Once upon a time..." and thus requires no introductory question to use.