Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. unpleasant.

1954		(con. 1920s–30s) J.O. Killens Youngblood (1956) 415: Youngblood just don’t like this bad-ass whiskey you sell.
1966		(con. 1958) R. Farina Been Down So Long (1972) 73: Oh bad-ass scene. Get them out of here.

2. (also ass-bad, bad-arse, bad-assed) tough, aggressive, frightening.

1955		J. Blake letter 28 Dec. in Joint (1972) 75: Remember Sandy, the sullen kid [...] Wanted to be a hard-nosed badass type.
1964		R. Abrahams Deep Down In The Jungle 54: Now the lion came through the jungle one peaceful day, / When the signifying monkey stopped him, and that is what he started to say: / He said, ‘Mr Lion,’ he said, ‘A bad-assed motherfucker down your way.’ 79: I’m that bad-ass so-and-so they call ‘Stackolee’.
1966		B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 179: There’s gonna be some badassed happenings if I don’t get invited.
1973		S. Ace Stand On It (1979) 249: They stage a few bad-ass, no-account races for trophies.
1988		R.R. Moore ‘Signifyin’ Monkey’ 🎵 Way down in the jungle deep, / The bad ass lion stepped on the signifyin monkey’s feet.
1990		R.G. Barratt ‘Plague on Puffers’ in What Do You Reckon (1997) [ebook] I was a full-on, bad arse macho man.
1998		L. Stringer Grand Central Winter (1999) 67: It was better to go inside with a ‘don’t-give-a-fuck’ badass rep preceding him.
1999		Guardian Rev. 15 Oct. 17: If that means pretending to be a badass rock chick, so be it.
2001		J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 306: What kind of person’s so ass-bad they don’t even lock their door?
2002		A. Duff Jake’s Long Shadow 227: It takes so many down with it [...] li’l Monty grown into a big bad-arse bastard.
2002		J. Lerner You Got Nothing Coming 14: Greasy, matted shoulder-length hair (secured by filthy rubber bands) and five identical goatees scraggily aspiring to a bad-ass look.
2005		L. Theroux Call of the Weird (2006) 180: Jeezy looked [...] thrillingly badass.
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 362: Even tough-talking, badass Animal eventually decided to cooperate.
2017		D. Winslow The Force [ebook] The badass look helps him stay out of the physical confrontations.
2018		‘Aidan Truhen’ Price You Pay 119: [T]hey care about being the Seven Demons, or about being that badass, or being able to kill whoever they like.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 90: Harry sprung three badass beaners from the [...] drunk tank.

3. of people, animals, objects: formidable, admirable, first-rate.

1971		M. Van Peebles [film title] Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.
1974		V.E. Smith Jones Men 7: She was dressed all in white with a bad-ass mink round her shoulders.
1980		J.L. Gwaltney Drylongso 232: God is the baddest ass in the firmament! He spare who he want to and He strike who he want to.
1995		L. Stavsky et al. A2Z.
1998		(con. 1986) G. Pelecanos Sweet Forever 5: A bad-ass prison picture called Short Eyes.
2001		G. Pelecanos Right As Rain 214: Logan had this dog, a boxer mix, called him Greco. Bad-ass dog, too [...] and I always liked the name.
2003		G. Tate Midnight Lightning 111: Ahmad’s crew were mostly his cousins [...] They were ‘fine,’ bad-ass football players.
2012		Eve. Standard 20 Apr. 14/2: She is suddenly not only very popular but has also acquired a completely surprising badass cool.
2019		N. Walker Cherry 21: Madison could dance like a real bad-assed slut.
2023		J. Jackson Pineapple Street 151: ‘I just picture you as this badass mom [...] [d]oing your job with a baby strapped to your chest’.