metric shitload

Meaning

Noun

• A very large number or amount.

Origin

• Of jocular origin echoing the themes of (1) "a ton of [something]" in its sense similar to "a lot of [something]" as an idiomatic way to emphasize an imprecisely measured but certainly large amount, (2) a shitload being synonymous with that sense, and (3) the distinction between kinds of tons (tons, tonnes, short tons, long tons, metric tons, imperial tons); the humor rests on the disjunction between the superficial air of precision and the obvious subtext of imprecision.