in the can

1. In the lavatory, as in He can't come to the phone; he's in the can . The related on the can means “sitting on the toilet.” The noun can is used for both the room and the toilet. [ Slang ; c. 1900]

2. Completed, as in About a hundred pages of her next book are in the can . This usage originated in filmmaking to describe a completed motion picture, when film was literally put into a can or canister. [ Slang ; c. 1930]

3. As an out-of-the-money finisher in a horse race, where a horse comes in fourth or worse. For example, He had no luck that day—every bet ended up in the can . [1960s]

Example Sentences

Marlowe Lee was off the clock, 12 more hours in the can, but Call-Me-Jessie had changed the closing procedure, and now, for the second week running, Marlowe had to do final cleanup and lockup after clocking out.

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Season 6 is already in the can, and Season 7 is due to start filming this fall.

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On the day of our interview, Martin is completing the last of 12 paintings for the show and is puzzled why the paint appears differently on the canvas than in the can.

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Then once we recorded those songs they were in the can, but we didn’t play them.

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“When we knew we had the scene in the can,” says Förderer, “we’d then pretend we had only one attempt to capture it without cutting. Like the characters in the film say, ‘Follow the story wherever it takes us.’”

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