Since we have a commercial here for A&W that uses that phrase, I got curious (imagine that! lol) and wondered where it originated and what it means.
I can't find where it originated, but I found two "definitions". Either "Shut your mouth!" or "Shut the fuck up!" As I was looking around, I found this. ROFLMAO!

Shut the Front Door Oreo Offensiveness

I overheard a conversation the other day about an Oreo commercial that was upsetting conservative Christians because they figured the commercial was basically getting away with saying, “Shut the fuck up!” by saying “Shut the front door!” instead. More stupidity from super sensitive people who would ban the word darn (which really means damn) if they could.

The protest group in question is One Million Moms and you can read a blog post on it at MyNorthwest.com. They started an email campaign against Nabisco/Kraft because of this commercial. Surprise, surprise, if you go to their website who do they happen to be affiliated with but The American Family Association–a bunch of bigots who would rather have us go back to the dark ages of gays in the closet and women subservient to men (per The Bible) instead of progressing forward. The list of targets on the site includes: NBC for the new Playboy Club show, Procter & Gamble for a Febreze commercial because someone says, “Oh my God,” and Zappos for nude models in their “More Than Shoes” campaign.

“Oh my fuckin’ God!” what a waste of time. Is this what conservative uptight Christians bring to the table? Protests against trivial issues while the economy is in the shit and people are losing jobs, not to mention the new famine in Somalia. Is this how shallow The American Family Association is? Even if Christianity is true how does this save souls? Seems to fall in step with the legalism of the Pharisees who couldn’t see the bigger picture.

Well, goddammit (and I’m purposefully peppering this post with colorful language), I happen to love Oreos because they’re one of the few store-bought cookies that doesn’t have dairy and I’m lactose intolerant to the extreme. Now I can’t have the new product they’re pushing in the “Shut the Front Door “ad because Oreo Fudge Cremes I believe do have dairy (damn! damn! damn!), but I plan to pick up a box of good ol’ fashioned Oreos tomorrow just to spite the fuckin’ One Million Moms and The American Family Association. Oreos aren’t just for kids and frankly, we’re all using euphemisms to be polite to sensitive uptights like the One Million Moms. Maybe we shouldn’t extend that consideration anymore so people could get used to sound the word “fuck” makes–after all, how do you get to be a mom? By fucking!

BTW: The people I overheard talking about this Oreo commercial were all working moms and they thought One Million Moms were being stupid and should get a life. I couldn’t agree more. This petty behavior disguised as morality.

http://www.freethunk.net/freethunk-news ... eness-2480

Here is one comment that had me giggling:

aaron says:
August 7, 2011 at 12:26 am

my question is: what do these million moms say when they actually want someone to shut the front door???? maybe they just leave it open so they don’t offend????


Some of the other comments are funny too!

The AFA must hold meetings to decide what to be horribly offended over...and that's what they picked?

Note to self: buy oreos on way home from school today ~

Sooz

The first place I heard this expression was Stacy and Clinton on What Not to Wear and clearly, she meant STFU. She used it as an exclamation when someone came out looking stunning in their new makeover clothes.

I love the expression! It's no different than saying darn for damn, heck for hell etc.

These people really need to get a life. I meant that.

It's the same as "shut your pie hole".

It's amazing that two organizations with a total membership of 175 can have as much influence as the AFA / A Million Moms. I expect folks do know that they are the same group. Because they own a few radio/television stations they actually have more employees than they do members.