pound sand

English

Alternative forms

• pound dirt, pound salt, pound sand into a rathole

Etymology

Probably originating as a mild insult, as the act of pounding sand is considered not only to be a menial task, but also one which causes no fruition, therefore suggesting those who perform it are somehow hopelessly mentally impaired.

Pronunciation

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Verb

pound sand (third-person singular simple present pounds sand, present participle pounding sand, simple past and past participle pounded sand)

1. (idiomatic) To engage in a futile activity.
   • 2010, Eric Blehm, The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan, HarperCollins, published 2010, →ISBN, page 44:

     […] Without men on the ground, we'll be pounding sand."

   • 2011, Donald Rumsfeld, Known and Unknown: A Memoir:

     He told Shelton we needed to "unleash holy hell." “We're not just going to pound sand,” he added.

2. (idiomatic, dismissal) To go away; get lost; go to hell.
   • 2003 March 15, Christopher Koch, “Showdown at the 6.0 Corral”, in CIO:

     "The price to us was going to be $3 million, and we had four months to pay before the Licensing 6.0 deadline. We told Microsoft to go pound sand."

Quotations

• For more quotations using this term, see Citations:pound sand.

Synonyms

• (do something futile): get blood from a stone, piss up a rope
• (go away): get lost, go fly a kite, take a hike, fuck off

See also

• enough sense to pound sand into a rathole