broken arse n.
(N.Z. prison) a prisoner who has failed to deal emotionally with the pressure of prison life; thus relegated to the bottom of the inmate hierarchy.
![[NZ]](/static/img/flags/nz.png "New Zealand") | Big Huey 59: If the others knew the way I was feeling they’d call me ‘broken arse’. | |
| Broken Arse II vii: whimple: Hey, you’re a scab, man! You’ve sold out! [...] all: Broken arse, Broken arse, Broken arse. | |
| Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 34: broken-arse A prisoner who has caved in to the system and goes to the bottom of the pecking order among his fellow prisoners. 1980s. |
In derivatives
(N.Z. prison) characteristic of an emotional weakling.
| Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 31/1: broken arsed adj. being a broken arse, displaying the characteristics and behaviour of a broken arse. |
In phrases
(N.Z. prison) increased nervous as one’s release date nears.
| Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 30/2: broken arse fever [...] ridiculing the inmate for being nervous in the days leading up to his release date. |
(N.Z. prison) usu. in context of dealing with one’s sentence: showing oneself to be lacking in courage, competence or emotional stability.
| Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 30/2: do something the broken arse way to do something in a way that suggests a marked lack of courage, competence, or emotional control. This is most frequently applied to one’s sentence, i.e. do one’s lag the broken arse way. |