Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a general negative epithet, the equivalent of fucking adj.; also as adv.

1959		A. Salkey Quality of Violence (1978) 93: You rass clothes going rip off before I ever let you go. [Ibid.] 152: Trying to get into another class. Stupid rass! There’s only one rass class, only one . [Ibid.] 203: You couldn’t mash your tea bread, right now, and what is more, you rass know it, Mother Johnson!
1968		A. Salkey Late Emancipation of Jerry Stover (1982) 26: Any rass thing’ll do.
1973		A. Salkey ‘I into history, now’ Jamaica (1983) 9: You see all them / rass gal jus’ givin’ / all o’ we cock-stan’.
1976		A. Salkey Come Home, Malcolm Heartland 110: In any case, my so-called problems aren’t like yours by a long rass stretch, ol’ man.
1980		(con. 1950s) M. Thelwell Harder They Come 105: Stan’ back. unu out to bruk down de raas door? [Ibid.] 333: You bettah raas glad you mekkin’ a livin’ at all.
1983		C. Knight We Shall Not Die 10: Dem nuh pretty up a raass ting, man. [Ibid.] 65: Unoo raas mad or something? What di bombo clat unoo trin’ to do? Kill mi?
1988		S. Selvon Eldorado West One 16: I never seen that raas-Jamaica yet. [Ibid.] 23: It is only in this country I get to meet Barbadians, and Grenadians, and rarse-Jamaicans.
1990		L. Goodison Baby Mother and King of Swords 55: The men kept saying he had gone rass mad ... nobody tried to restrain him for he had murder in his eyes. [...] Frenchie bad no rass bwoy. You see him just fling the things, chuh.
1994		M. Montague Dread Culture 92: Sam, come mek we leave dis rass place before mi lose mi temper. [Ibid.] 157: Chuckie looked at his watch again. ‘Johnny late. What a lickle rass saps.’.
1999		(con. 1979–80) A. Wheatle Brixton Rock (2004) 183: I ain’t paying no rarse pound!
2001		(con. 1981) A. Wheatle East of Acre Lane 202: Der’s gonna be one big rarse fight between de two ah we.
2008		A. Wheatle Dirty South 113: I don’t need no raas validation from any white man.
2016		Mavado ‘Big Bumpa Gal’ 🎵 A bad gyal a crab up me back / Under some rass whine.