Green’s Dictionary of Slang

ass n.

[sense 1 SE ass, a donkey; subseq. senses see also arse n.]

1. an unpleasant person, esp. a fool, an idiot; occas. of inanimate object (see cite 1930).

[UK]Skelton Magnyfycence line 1386: They drove me to lernynge lyke a dull asse.
[UK]Udall Ralph Roister Doister III iii: Ye are such a calf, such an ass, such a block.
[UK]J. Heywood Fifth Hundred of Epigrams (1867) 182: I am anguishte to see thee an ape, Iyll / I am angry to see thee an asse, Wyll.
[UK]New Custom II ii: Come on thou grosse headed knaue, thou whoreson asse I say.
[UK]Nashe Martin-Marprelate Tractes in Works I (1883–4) 167: They [...] are the veriest Asses of all the rest.
[UK]Three Lords and Three Ladies of London C 5: The silly Asse can not fed on harder forage than vsurie.
[UK]J. Day Blind Beggar of Bednall-Green Act III: Now this old Asse believing I said true / Comes with my Conscience, bids me advise.
[UK]Dekker Lanthorne and Candle-Light Ch. 1: Mine host being a credulous Asse, suffers them all to get uppe upon him.
[UK]Jonson Bartholomew Fair III v: Are all fools and asses to this?
[UK]J. Mabbe (trans.) Life of Guzman Pt I Bk II 105: Such another Asse as I, was there neuer.
[UK]Ford ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore I iii: Well, Bergetto, I fear thou wilt be a very ass still.
[UK]T. Killigrew Parson’ s Wedding (1664) V iv: Thou’rt an Ass.
[UK] ‘The Arraignment of the Devil for stealing away President Bradshaw’ Rump Poems and Songs (1662) II 137: Devil, you are an Asse, / Plain it is, plain it is.
[UK]Rochester ‘Love to a Woman’ in Works (1999) 38: Love a Woman? Th’rt an Ass! / ’Tis a most insipid passion.
[UK]Otway Soldier’s Fortune IV i: The devil’s an ass, sir, and here’s a health to all those that defy the devil.
[UK]Congreve Old Bachelor I i: You that are women’s asses bear greater burdens.
[UK]Congreve Way of the World III ii: The devil’s an ass: if I were a painter I would draw him like an idiot.
[UK]Humours of a Coffee-House 9 Jan. 86: Thou talkest like an Ass now.
[UK]Pope Letter to Hon. R. Digby in Works (1847) 145: They think our Doctors asses to them .
[Scot]A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. 14: The Warld is rul’d by asses, And the Wise are sway’d by clink [F&H].
[UK]Newcastle Courant 18-25 Nov. 4/3: Some call me Doctor, but more calle Mr Aass.
[UK]Smollett Humphrey Clinker (1925) I 138: He damns all the other writers of the age [...] One is a blunderbuss, as being a native of Ireland; another a half-starved louse of literature, from the banks of the Tweed; a third an ass, because he enjoys a pension from government.
[Ind]Hicky’s Bengal Gaz. 19-26 May n.p.: The Just-Ass is a very fearfull Mon.
[UK]‘Peter Pindar’ ‘Ode Upon Ode’ Works (1794) I 400: A pack of drunken asses.
[UK]W. Godwin Caleb Williams (1966) 91: Ass! Scoundrel!
[UK]B.H. Malkin (trans.) Adventures of Gil Blas (1822) I 113: I need not go to a jeweller to be told I am an ass!
[UK]W. Combe Doctor Syntax, Picturesque (1868) 85/2: I would never be an ass / For all your gold, with all your brass.
[UK]W.T. Moncrieff Tom and Jerry III v: You are indeed an A-S-S, not to have found me out before.
[US]R.E. Robinson Diary A Sketch of the Life of R.P. Robinson (1836) 10 Oct. 8: That d----d ass — the public.
[US]Whip & Satirist of NY & Brooklyn (NY) 26 Feb. n.p.: Drink less rum and mind your own business, and don’t let us call you an a-s-s.
[UK]W.T. Moncrieff Scamps of London II i: I’m a ruined homo, a muff, a flat, a sam, a regular ass.
[UK]F. Smedley Lewis Arundel 338: Say, that you’re a regular out-and-out good fellow, and that I’m a ----d ass.
[UK]Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1994) 8: As to Twemlow... he considers the large man an offensive ass.
[US] ‘Subsidy’ in Lingenfelter et al. Songs of the Amer. West (1968) 71: The Corporation’s clever and the Public is an ass.
[Ind]‘Aliph Cheem’ Lays of Ind (1905) 76: But let a woman just tip the scale, / And Rudge was a terrible ass.
[UK]Besant & Rice Golden Butterfly III 88: I have made a contemptible ass of myself on several occasions.
[UK]J. Payn Notes from ‘News’ 22: Some unspeakable ass will sometimes ask a popular novelist for a story gratis.
[UK]Kipling ‘Stalky’ in Complete Stalky & Co. (1987) 15: Of all the infernal, idiotic, lower-second asses!
[UK]K. Grahame Wind in the Willows (1995) 51: ‘O stop being an ass, Toad!’ cried the Mole despairingly.
[UK]‘Sapper’ Human Touch 256: I always thought him a bit of an ass at school.
[UK]Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves 177: And, of course, young Bingo had to make an ass of himself.
[UK]E. Waugh Vile Bodies 218: He’s rather an ass about money.
[Aus]N. Lindsay Redheap (1965) 98: ‘I wasn’t thinking of that, you ass,’ said Hetty.
[Aus]N. Lindsay Redheap (1965) 271: ‘Tell him I had an affair with Teddie Briggs. I did, too, with you footling about after him in this ass of a room’.
[UK]P.C. Wren Uniform of Glory 247: Imbeciles! Goats! Asses! Mules!
[US]Lay & Bartlett Twelve O’clock High! (1975) 167: I’ll admit you made a horse’s ass of yourself.
[US]P. Highsmith Two Faces of January (1988) 233: You’ll have me removed? I’ll have you in prison, you ass!
[US]G.V. Higgins Digger’s Game (1981) 95: A tan he’ll use to get more ass up here.
[UK](con. 1940s) D. Nobbs Second From Last in the Sack Race 194: ‘Ass,’ said Paul. ‘Girls can be asses.’.
[US]Source Aug. 48: Wolf [made us] look like asses!

2. (US) the buttocks, the anus.

[UK]Nancy Dawson’s Jests 15: An old woman had a jack ass run away [...] she called out to a man in the road, stop my ass master, stop me ass. Take a cork you old whore, and stop it yourself, say he.
[UK]‘Bumper Allnight. Esquire’ Honest Fellow 167: On Her M—y’s ass* *Her M— having lately received a present of a Zebra, or African Ass [...] it is become a common saying in London, ‘Come and see the q—n’s ass without fee or reward’.
[UK] ‘The Dandy Petticoat’ Swell!!! or, Slap-Up Chaunter 5: They are so dandyfied, they cannot stoop, alas! / But what the gentlemen must see all their ---.
[UK] ‘Slashing Costermonger’ Cuckold’s Nest 10: Of darters I’ve got two or three, / Too praise them none can cease, sirs, / And, just to show ’em off, they’ve got / A pretty ass a-piece, sirs.
[UK]Peeping Tom (London) 14 54/2: And jumping up, quite startl’d, from the grass, / She saw that monster, Mrs Bunt’s huge ass.
[US]Venus’ Miscellany (NY) 23 May n.p.: I don’t see why he should not just as well take his ass out of a hole.
[Aus]Dead Bird (Sydney) 2 Nov. 4/2: For they rarely mention ‘asses’ in that gathering of ‘the blest,’ / [...] /Since we’ve learned to call a ‘donkey’ what our forbears called an ‘ass’.
[Aus]Truth (Sydney) 23 Dec. 3/3: ‘I shall speak in the language of the Bible [...] I like not his hocks nor his ass, nor anything that he is.’ (Prolonged laughter).
[UK]Crissie 109: ‘Stand us a pot, old gel, and I won’t pinch yer ass’.
[UK]T.S. Eliot ‘Columbo & Bolo Verses’ Inventions of the March Hare in Ricks (1996) 317: The cabin boy appeared on deck / And scampered up the mast-o / Columbo grabbed him by the balls / And buggered him in the ass-o.
[NZ]G. Meek Chips Off the Old Stumbling Blocks 41: There’s many a forty-ass power man drives a seventy horse-power motor car.
[UK] ‘Rangy Lil’ in Bold (1979) 192: And through the portals of Lil’s ass / A foot of jet-black penis passed.
[US]H. Miller Tropic of Capricorn (1964) 169: She had such a marvellous ass.
[US](con. 1944) N. Mailer Naked and Dead 199: They just send you out to get your ass blown off.
[US](con. 1870s) S. Longstreet Pedlocks (1971) 65: She sang and she shouted and danced o’er the plain / And showed her bare ass to the whole waggon train!
[US]C. Himes Crazy Kill 13: Do you just have to switch your ass at every man that passes by?
[US]N. Heard Howard Street 32: Momma used to tell us all the time that a hard head makes a soft ass.
[UK]A. Burgess Enderby Outside in Complete Enderby (2002) 327: The man at the blackboard had just finished writing Hot kitchens of his ass.
[US]D. Goines Street Players 161: Fuck you in your ass, you freakish bastard!
[US]C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 243: Roberto had planted his fat ass on the kneeling cushion.
[US]Tarantino & Avery Pulp Fiction [film script] 68: Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass.
[US]T. Udo Vatican Bloodbath 37: An ass like a goddamn li’l under-ripe peach!
[Aus]B. Matthews Intractable [ebook] ‘Bend over and spread the cheeks of your ass’.
[US]T. Pluck Boy from County Hell 338: It [i.e. a kick] burned like poison but lit a fire under his ass.

3. (US) (in a sexual context) the vagina; occas. the penis.

[UK] ‘O, Saw You My Ass When ‘Twas Out On The Green’ Flash Chaunter 13: That you may know my ass when you do it spy, / I’d have you know, it has got but one eye! / It has a long mane just like a jew’s beard, / And like many more asses, my ass is lop-ear’d.
[UK] ‘The Laundress & Her Ass’ Rambler’s Flash Songster 4: Why yer honer, ’tis true what I’m telling you, / His cock has been bang-in(g) my ass.
[US]Venus’ Miscellany (NY) 23 May n.p.: [She] covered her face [...] but left the other parts bare [...] The damsel [...] lisped [...] ‘Men know fathes, but they don’t know othes!’ [sic].
[US]Lil Johnson ‘Sam – the Hot Dog Man’ 🎵 Women don’t do nothin’ but sit on their yas, yas, yas, And wait for Sam’s hot dog.
[US] in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 7: He ran into a lass / Who showed him her ass — / Now they sleep with only a sheet on.
[UK]W. Eyster Far from the Customary Skies 324: Can she make with her ass or’s she too old to remember what it’s like?
[US]G. Legman Fake Revolt 24: Puerto Rico, Hamburg, or Las Vegas, or some other gook country where prostitution and drugs are wide-open, and underage ass of both sexes is pitifully cheap.
[US]B. Malamud Tenants (1972) 145: Even though you know you are well-hung and your LBJ salutes when it sniffs ass.
[US]R. Price Ladies’ Man (1985) 71: I was used to women chasing my ass.
[US](con. 1968) W.E. Merritt Where the Rivers Ran Backward 70: I very, very good. Numbah one hot pussy. You want fuck? My ass like a machine.
[US]UGK ‘976-Bun B’ 🎵 The hoe starts lickin that dick and pretty soon / I’m stickin that ass.
[US]Dr Dre ‘Housewife’ 🎵 A high-post hoe, a perfect way for me to keep dough / Huh, have her sellin ass on Bronson Ave. and Pico.
M.E. Dassad ‘Chickenhawk’ at www.cultdeadcow.com 🌐 Your uncle’s big fat dick sliding down your throat, shooting his hot milky sperm into your mouth, while his friend humped your horny little ass and came inside you.
[SA]Topix Local News (Johannesburg) 26 June 🌐 They are big liers [sic] they will promise u the world while they are after your ass.

4. (US) used generically to mean one’s person, one’s body.

S.C. Adams Jr. personal doc. q. in Adams Ms in Gordon & Nemerov Lost Delta Found (2005) 245: Shine [...] said, ‘Mr. Devil, you got to do some swimming to catch my black ass’.
[US](con. 1944) N. Mailer Naked and Dead 211: A bunch of men like us is risking our ass for a whole goddam week.
[US]C. Himes Real Cool Killers (1969) 40: We haven’t got anybody to work on but him and it’s just his black ass.
[US]N. Heard Howard Street 116: Y’all start something in my house and I’ll have the cops on your ass.
[US]D. Goines Street Players 9: Ain’t nobody asked your greasy black ass to loan me no money.
[US]J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 73: Get your ass outa there, lil sis.
[US]Dr Dre ‘Fuck Wit Dre Day’ 🎵 The hood you threw up with, niggaz you grew up with / Don’t even respect your ass.
[US]J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 17: You got me, hombres? behave your ass in here!
[US](con. 1990s) in J. Miller One of the Guys 81: ‘Don’t nobody wanna fuck with him. That’s the big dog. Can’t hang with the big dog , you better stay your ass on the porch with the poodles’.
[US]G. Pelecanos Night Gardener 106: Let’s get your ass cleaned up [...] I can’t take your stink.
[US]J. Ellroy Hilliker Curse 13: Rita sacked his lazy ass, circa ’50.
[US]‘Dutch’ ? (Pronounced Que) [ebook] His faggot ass had a gun, that’s the only reason I ain’t beat his ass.
[UK]A. Wheatle Crongton Knights 14: ‘I’m missing [...] And I don’t know when you’ll see my ass next’.
[US]D. Winslow ‘Sunset’ in Broken 206: ‘He’ll leave you in the soup to save his own ass’.

5. (orig. US/Aus.) sexual conquests; thus generic for a woman when viewed purely as a sex object.

[US] (ref. to late 19C) N. Kimball Amer. Madam (1981) 241: He’d take his favourite bit of ass upstairs.
[US] in T. Shibutani Derelicts of Company K (1978) 384: ‘Where’d you go?’ ‘Atsugi.’ ‘Good ass?’ ‘Can’t complain. Just 30 yen.’.
[US]J.P. Donleavy Ginger Man (1958) 44: There I was, on hard cold stone mumbling hail marys and thinking of ass I was missing in Dublin. [Ibid.] 365: And tell me, how do you manage to get so much ass?
[US]W. Miller Cool World (1965) 14: You out for ass all the time, Man.
[US]M. Braly On the Yard (2002) 31: ‘You get any good ass?’ Nunn grinned. ‘You horny old fart.’.
[US]A. Brooke Last Toke 8: Time Square full o’ white money sniffin’ on black ass.
[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass: [...] 2. an act of anal intercourse. [I got a little ass last night].
[UK]K. Sampson Powder 366: If you have got one single piece of ass in there, your fuckin ass is toast!
[US]‘Grandmaster Flash’ Adventures 114: They could be girls you'd only been with once or they could be the mother of your kids, but either way, things changed once you got that ass.
[US]M. Sheridan ‘Feeling Good’ in ThugLit Jan. [ebook] Green had a thing for Asian ass.
[US]J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 246: ‘The Molette kid is pushing ass to a US senator’.

6. (US) sexual intercourse.

[US] in T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 35: The ass business has kept me in gravy.
[US] in S. Harris Hellhole 155: We women be better off if only we didn’t need them [i.e. men] so much for ass.
[US]G. Pelecanos Night Gardener 21: I wasn’t gonna turn down some ass.
[US]J. Díaz This Is How You Lose Her 160: Paloma, who didn’t give you any ass because she was terrified that if she got pregnant she wouldn’t abort it.

7. (US) of an object, the rear.

[US]E. Stephens Blow Negative! 127: Keep her ass out of the mud, Harry.

8. (US) used adj. and dismissively, an unpleasant or disgusting individual or object.

[US]D. Jenkins Baja Oklahoma 223: ‘What’s this mean, Beecher? “We’re No. 4!”?’ ‘Number four’s ass,’ Beecher said. ‘We’re so No. 1 right now, our second string’s 1-A’ .
Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass n 1. anything displeasing [...] ‘That car looks like ass,’ means that the car looks bad. ‘This room smells like ass.’ or ‘This pizza tastes like ass’. ‘I feel like ass today,’ would mean that the speaker doesn’t feel well .
[US]Eble Campus Sl. Apr.

9. (US drugs) the last, and thus least potent, puff on a marijuana cigarette or pipe.

[US]Da Bomb 🌐 ass (n) The last and worst hit from a bowl of marijuana. That hit was total ass. [University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 1999].

10. (US) mentality, character, personality.

[US]J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 155: I swear, the richer the White Folks, the dumber their ass.

11. essence, being.

[US]E. Weiner Drop Dead, My Lovely (2005) 44: The firm is having its ass sued off.

12. (US) the buttocks/anus as an object of male homosexual desire.

[US]T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘You looking for some ass, sailor?’ the kid yelled back, smacking his bony behind for emphasis.

13. (US) used dismissively, plus a qualifying n.

[US]D. Jenkins Stick a Fork In Me 91: I said, ‘Farm Dog, I’m thinking somebody somewhere along the way may have given you a confusing idea of sportsmanship.’ ‘Sportsmanship’s ass,’ he said.

In derivatives

assdom (n.)

stupidity as shown by a group of individuals.

[UK]Sporting Times (London) 15 Feb. 3/2: This deputation about music-halls was simply ‘crass assdom’.
assways (adj.) (also arseways)

1. of sexual intercourse, from the rear.

[Ire]Joyce letter 8 Dec. to Nora Barnacle, in Ellman Sel. Letters (1975) 184: I am delighted to see that you do like being fucked arseways.
[US]H. Miller Sexus (1969) 58: She was on her hands and knees, begging me to give it to her assways.

2. (US, also ass-to and every whichaway) skew-whiff, back-to-front.

[UK]Sketch (London) 107 202/2: There’s the rumour of the raiders who ‘bummed’ London having their compasses rendered all assways by ‘Magnetick currents’.
[US]H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1963) 93: He stands there with [...] his hat on assways.
[US]H. Miller Wisdom of the Heart 118: That’s civilization — always doing things assways.
[US](con. 1945) E. Thompson Tattoo (1977) 312: They’re [films] supposed to come rewound, but they come ass-to and every whichaway.
[Ire]P. Howard The Joy (2015) [ebook] ‘Oh, sorry, I must have got it [i.e. a piece of information] arseways’.
[Ire]J. O’Connor Salesman 194: If things go arseways and if I have to use this [...] then you’ll have to buy it off me.
[Ire]F. Mac Anna Cartoon City 52: Hadn’t she invited him herself. Or had the flower shop lady got it arseways?
[Ire]L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 12: [T]hey’d retreat like politicians after a general election, smiling benignly, walking arseways.

3. head-over-heels.

[UK]‘J.H. Ross’ Mint (1955) 55: The barman only shook his bloody apron at him, and he went arse-ways on the fucking floor.

4. (US) rear, as of a pocket.

[US]W. Guthrie Seeds of Man (1995) 297: Got it here’n my assways pocket.
assy (adj.)

1. (S.Afr./US gay) malicious, sarcastic.

[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 assy: bitch, nasty.
[SA]J. Naidoo Coolie Location 66: ‘I’ll get you!’ I threatened. ‘You won’t get me nothing, you assy Parker!’.

2. (US black) insignificant, second-rate, unimportant.

[US]Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 assy Definition: in the condition of being a fool/small time Example: Yo, that ugly skank ho o’er dere is assy. I wouldn’t do her for all the Jack Daniels in Tennesee.

3. (US) having large or prominent buttocks.

[US]J. Stahl Happy Mutant Baby Pills 122: They mad-dogged us and then the boy grabbed one of his chiquita’s butt cheeks [...] Nora slid her eyes my way and shrugged. ‘Some guys like ’em assy’.

Adjectival or adverbial uses

In compounds

ass-backwards (also arse-backwards, ass-backward)

(US) back-to-front; thus fig., in a mess, chaotic.

[[UK] J. Salisbury Gloss. Words S.E. Worcs 13: Assud-backuds, hind before ].
[UK]Rabelais All Extant Works: An American Translation 55: I hope you drink so much you tumble over arse-backwards.
[US]N. Kimball Amer. Madam (1981) 185: His attitude was ass-backwards.
[US]Hench Collection n.p.: I have heard for years in the speech of less polished persons the word assbackwards as in ‘He put on his pants assbackwards’ [DARE].
[US](con. 1890s) W.L. McAtee Dial. Grant County (IN) Suppl 2: Ass-backwards [...] Extravagance for backwards.
[US]R. Ellison Invisible Man 137: We’re an assbackward people.
[US]L.F. Cooley Run For Home (1959) 106: He’d probably give it to you all ass-backwards!
[UK](con. WWII) G. Sire Deathmakers 216: He spends the rest of his life running around ass-backwards, until he finally disappears up his own asshole.
[US]in DARE.
[US]C. Himes Run Man Run (1969) 94: I do eveything ass backwards, don’t I?
[US]J. Webb Fields of Fire (1980) 27: ‘You in the Marines?’ [...] ‘Nope, not yet.’ [...] ‘Ain’t this kind of ass-backwards?’.
[US]N. Heard House of Slammers 118: That seems a bit ass-backwards, as I see it.
[US]L. Heinemann Paco’s Story (1987) 126: I don’t fly it right side up, upside down, inside out, crosswise, ass backward, or fuck-you otherwise.
[US]D. Simon Homicide (1993) 224: A dozen or more .38-caliber rounds, most of them ass-backwards wadcutters.
[US]‘Punctured Bicycle’ 14 Nov. [email] Most humans on this arse backwards planet will not know what the hell to do with him, others love him intensely.
[US]J. Lerner You Got Nothing Coming 194: I exit the cell ass-backward, crashing into the moo cop who has run up the tier.
[SA]M. Rogers [blog] 9 May Anyway, this guy’s done some academic work demonstrating how arse-backwards conservative voting patterns actually are.
[US]A. Steinberg Running the Books 82: I’d kick myself in the ass, ass backwardz if I didn't attempt to get the goodz, knowin’ that I wanted a piece of the pie.
[US]T. Robinson Rough Trade [ebook] ‘Listen, you got this whole situation ass-backward’.
Twitter 14 May 🌐 There is no way you’re a millennial with that 1950s assbackwards way of thinking.
ass-broke

totally impoverished.

[US]G. Pelecanos Way Home (2009) 157: Chris and Ben would be ass-broke and back at work at seven in the morning.
ass deep (US)

1. very deep; usu. in such phrs. as ass deep to a tall moose.

[US]E. O’Brien One Way Ticket 13: Here we are [...] with the wind blowin’ like a bat outa hell and snow ass-deep to a tall Indian.
V. Fisher Pemmican 128: When we invade the Athabasca we’re going to be in trouble ass deep to a moose.
[US](con. 1950) R. Leckie March to Glory (1962) 192: The snow is ass-deep to a man in a jeep.
[US]D. Widener N.U.K.E.E. 153: Drake was now floundering around the Alaskan wilderness in snow, ass-deep to a tall moose, stuffing thermometers up the butts of wolves.
[US]J.Y. Glimm Flatlanders and Ridgerunners 23: The snow was ass deep to a tall Indian.
[US]M. Evans Madame Millie 147: Snow was ass deep to a giraffe, and the wind was blowing all the way from the North Pole.

2. totally involved with, with an excessive amount of.

[US]E. Gilbert Vice Trap 75: She used to be ass deep in codein [sic] and bennies.
[US]G.L. Coon Meanwhile, Back at the Front (1962) 37: I’m going to be ass-deep in rolling heads before I’m through here.
[US]D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 236: [He] is gonna get himself ass-deep in so much young Scotch that this palatial suite of ours better be able to float.
ass-dragging

(US) run-down, worn out.

[US]T. Witmore Memphis-Nam-Sweden 59: That was too much for a bunch of starving, combat-beat-to-the-ass-dragging grunts.
[UK]J. Mowry Six Out Seven (1994) 453: Ass-draggin stationwagon, but it kinda give ’em class.
ass-frontwards

1. head-over-heels.

[US]in DARE questionaire.

2. back-to-front.

[US]Burning Water 2 17: It’s as if all were ass-frontwards.
[US]J. Mekas Movie Jrnl 3: The mutilation of Max Ophuls’ Lola Montes, cut from its original 140 minutes to 90 minutes [...] plus being twisted ass-frontwards in a frantic attempt to make it look like a conventional film.
ass-grabbing

(US) irritating.

[UK]C.D. Bryan P.S. Wilkinson 82: You’ll never even get a cent of your precious ass-grabbing pension!
ass-high

(US) an unspecified measure of height; usu. as ass-high to a tall Indian.

[US]N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 161: ‘How tall are you, Shorty?’ [...] ‘About ass-high to a tall Indian.’.
[US]J. Hoffenberg Sow Not in Anger 422: I was about ass-high to a three-foot midget, I guess.
[US]T. Kidder Road to Yuba City 265: A forced march over mountains covered with snow that was ‘ass-high to a tall monkey’.
[US]I. Doig English Creek 61: A million dollar rain, ain’t it? Brought the grass up ass-high to a tall Indian.
[US]J. Larimer Pretender Lamb 147: January days when the snow is ‘ass high to a giraffe’.
ass-ignorant

(US) extremely stupid.

[US]Simon & Burns ‘The Target’ Wire ep. 1 [TV script] What would an ass-ignorant motherfucker like you do with a computer?
ass-out (US)

1. at the end of one’s tether; beyond effort, without luck (cf. assed out adj. (2)).

Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass out adj 2. out of luck. (‘I’m afraid that you’re just ass out.’).
[US]J. Ridley Everybody Smokes in Hell 131: ‘How you know he ain’t gonna roll?’ ‘He’s ass-out.’.

2. straighforward, easy.

[US]L. Stavsky et al. A2Z 2: ass-out – straight out: The test was ass-out easy.

3. without money.

Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass out adj 1. without money; BROKE. (‘I can’t go to the show tonight, I’m ass out.’).
ass-tight

1. (US) in fig. use, very efficient.

[US]C. Cooper Jr Scene (1996) 243: I know the Feds are doing an ass-tight job, holding the stuff down.

2. of friends, very intimate.

[US]P. Thomas Down These Mean Streets (1970) 121: The dozens is a dangerous game even among friends, and many a tooth has been lost between fine, ass-tight amigos.
ass-ugly

(US) very unattractive.

[US]Simon & Burns Corner (1998) 121: R.C., your shit is ass-ugly.
M. Haynes Mother of Pearl 135: She must be one ass-ugly woman, you wantin’ to run out so fast and all.
[US]C. Cummings On Being 11: [He] fires you because he didn’t like the comment you made about the ass-ugly chairs he put in my office?
[US]A. Dante La Faiglia Bianco 363: You better dump that fat ass-ugly crazy bitch, kid or no kid.

General uses

ass-bag (n.)

(US) a derog. term of abuse.

[US](con. 1968) D.A. Dye Citadel (1989) 133: Listen, ass-bag.
ass bandit (n.) [-bandit sfx]

1. a womanizer, a playboy.

[US]J.W. Ellson I’m Owen Harrison Harding 182: Owen Harding [...] The old reliable ass bandit!
[US]C. Brown Disciple 25: I think she’d like it if I was a big lover and seduced a lot of women, a real ass bandit, you know?
[US]Maledicta II:1+2 (Summer/Winter) 118: He misses [...] ass-bandit, formerly molrower (now obsolete, like so many other vivid sex terms: swive, Athenian, ell, etc.).
T. Kakonis Double Down 181: That line a work you’d be a regular ass bandit. More tail’n you could shake your schwantz at.

2. see arse bandit n.

ass-belly (n.)

(US) a grotesquely fat person.

[US] Delillo End Zone 117: That ass-belly sixty-two got his first in.
ass-bite

see separate entries.

assbone (n.) (also )

(US) the buttocks; the coccyx; thus break one’s assbone v.

[[UK]‘John and the Maid’ in Rumcodger’s Coll. in Spedding & Watt (eds) Bawdy Songbooks (2011) IV 265: With his spur up, prick up, he did kick up, / All the stones, to ass bones, she she cried, ‘pray do go on’].
[US]D. Pearce Pier Head 32: Before some other idiot breaks his goddam assbone.
www.sexdrip.com 🌐 [headline] Ram My Assbone Bone My Tight Virgin Ass!!
[US]J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 125: Two broken shoulders, half his teeth smashed, and a busted ass-bone.
www.thechraveler.com Jan. 🌐 If you and your buddies were barracho one night and decided to go pool hopping, you’d have about a 50-50 chance of cannonballing blindly into the wrong pool and breaking your assbone.
[US]D. Black Just a Baby 230: If you so much as look at her crooked, my foot bone will unite with your ass bone.
[Aus]P. Temple Truth 77: He’s on his arsebone in the Bekaa Valley, snorting Cloud Nine.
ass boy (n.)

(US) a male homosexual.

[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐.
gaymen.exyahoo.com 🌐 Access Instantly with Gay MAN Hot Sex! assboy.
ass-breaker (n.) (US)

1. a difficult, boring or exasperating job, problem or situation.

[US](con. WWII) J. Jones Thin Red Line (1963) 37: Well, here’s a real ass-breaker. I sure can collect them.
[US] in Rolling Stone 20 May No. 216 n.p.: I did it once. It was ass-breaker. You work yourself to death.
[US]B. Duffy Head Count 152: That’s an ass-breaker for an old man.
[US]W. Lawson Praetorian Condition 268: It’s [i.e. a climb] going to be a goddamn ass-breaker [...] It’s going to be hard.

2. a dive in which the diver lands stomach down on the water, rather than cutting through it.

[US]in DARE.

3. (US prison) a severe, authoritarian guard.

[US]R. Giallombardo Gloss. in Study of a Women’s Prison 200: Ass Breaker. [...] a strict disciplinarian.

4. a thug.

FilmScore Monthly 🌐 In the film, Dingus Magee (Frank Sinatra) is making a living as an ass-breaker when he encounters old acquaintance Herkimer ‘Hoke’ Birdsill (George Kennedy).

5. the penis.

‘Gang Rape’ in Sex, Sex Humor and Sexuality 🌐 ‘Come on Chuckie, get out. She’s had enough of your ass breaker.’ Chuckie slowly withdrew.
ass-bucket (n.)

(US black) an unpopular or unimportant person.

[US]W. Fisher Waiters 65: Once an ass-bucket always an ass-bucket. [Ibid.] 218: Who the hell is this jerk? Just another ass-bucket.
[US](con. 1920s–30s) J.O. Killens Youngblood (1956) 58: You assbuckets make me sick! Nothing but a bunch of pansies.
assbulb (n.)

(US black) a lazy person.

[US]Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 assbulb Definition: a person or persons who spend their whole time sitting around on their asses. Example: Yo looky at dem assbulbs jus sittin their like no ones biz.
ass burglar (n.)

a male homosexual.

[US]Maledicta III:2 231: He also may or may not know the following words and expressions: ass burglar or ass-bandit, ass peddler (hustler) and ass watcher (cruiser).
ass business (n.)

(US gay) male homosexual prostitution.

[US] in T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 8: That was the first time I thought of the bucks in the ass business.
[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass business: prostitution.
ass-buster/-busting

see separate entries.

ass-chewing (n.) [chew (on) someone’s ass under chew v.]

(orig. US milit.) a scolding, a serious reprimand.

[US]V.B. Shaw Nicodemus 132: I had caused him to get a royal ass-chewing.
[US]F.I. Gwaltney Day the Century Ended 226: Grimes said okay to that, gave the new fukup an ass-chewing and forgot about it.
[US]J. Crumley One to Count Cadence 231: He expected push-ups and an ass-chewing.
[US](con. 1945) E. Thompson Tattoo (1977) 271: The young deck officer wore a raw look that reflected the ass chewing he’d had.
[US]L.K. Truscott IV Dress Gray (1979) 249: The whole squad was down in the dumps, having performed poorly at parade and received a half-hour ass-chewing.
[US](con. 1967) Bunch & Cole Reckoning for Kings (1989) 135: He was so tired he really didn’t give a damn what kind of ass-chewing he was in for.
[US]B. Hamper Rivethead 193: A major ass-chewing was in order.
F. Lohr in U.S. Army Aviation Museum 🌐 Being pessimists, both Ralph and I mentally prepared ourselves for a first class ass chewing although we couldn’t fathom the possible reasons.
assface (n.)

(US campus) an unpleasant, stupid person.

[UK]Guardian Guide 25 Sept.–1 Oct. 9: I hate you and I hate your ass face!
[US]T. Pluck Boy from County Hell 189: Because I told you, ass face.
ass-fault (n.) [SE fault, a crevice] (US campus)

the crease between one’s buttocks.

www.shemale-vids.biz 🌐 It’s cum drenched, ass filled video for all who love the ass-fault highway!
assfuck/-fucker/-fucking

see separate entries.

ass games (n.)

(US gay) a variety of homosexual practices, including anal intercourse and sado-masochism.

[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass games: 1. to do anal intercourse 2. an act of anal intercourse. ass fucking: an act of anal intercourse, to insert a penis in the anus 3. [SM sl, late 60s] anal erotic practice such as enemas dildos, belts etc.
ass gasket (n.) [SE gasket, a thin, flat ring used as a seal between two surfaces]

(US campus) the paper protector that is placed over a lavatory seat to indicate its sanitized state.

[US]J. Mowry Children of the Night 183: He went into the bathroom, snagged an ass-gasket from the dispenser, dropped his jeans and sat down.
www.filmvault.com 🌐 We know that the Swede’s chances of catching tomorrow morning’s edition of The Today Show are about as good as those of an ass gasket in a hurricane.
www.dnalounge.com 3 Apr. 🌐 The various wall fixtures have also been installed: trash cans, and paper towel, toilet paper, and ass-gasket dispensers. (‘Ass gasket’ is the technical term for those round paper discs that you can put on the toilet seat so that you don’t actually have to come in contact with it.).
ass hammer (n.) [the battering one receives from its seat]

(US campus) a motorcycle.

[US]G. Underwood ‘Razorback Sl.’ in AS L:1/2 55: ass hammer n Motorcycle.
asshead/-headed

see separate entries.

asshole

see separate entries.

ass-hound (n.) [-hound sfx]

1. (US) a womanizer, a ‘skirt chaser’.

[US]K.C. Lamott Stockade 62: That asshound Fischer won’t make any trouble.
[US]P. Mandel Mainside 52: Officers are all either queer or ass-hounds.
[US]G. Wittman Matter of Intelligence 57: ‘Tell me, is this guy much of an ass-hound?’ ‘No, not at all, on the contrary. I would say he is rather ascetic.’.
[US]R.M. McInerny Body & Soul 41: Corbett [...] had the reputation of being a real ass hound.
[US]R.W. Garcia Valhalla Underground 104: ‘All the excitement has me really needing to bust a nut!’ ‘Goddamn, X! Chill. I didn’t think that you were such an ass hound.’.

2. (US gay) one who enjoys anal intercourse and is primarily sexually attracted by the buttocks.

[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass hound: [...] 2 a male whose favorite part of the anatomy is the ass. 3 a man with an [sic] consuming interest in ass fucking.
asskash (n.)

see separate entry.

ass-kick/-kicker/-kicking

see separate entries.

ass-kiss/-kisser/-kissing

see separate entries.

assload (n.)

an excess.

[Aus](con. 1830s–60s) ‘Miles Franklin’ All That Swagger 233: It’s manny an ass-load of foolishness has assailed me ears, and manny the heart-scald since I married ye.
[US]M. Braly On the Yard (2002) 15: You jus’ hold yore cool [...] They got an assload a time out in that cou’troom — all’s you got to do is back up and get it.
Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass-load n 1. a great quantity. Generally accepted to exceed a butt-load. (‘I just ate an ass-load of tacos!’).
[Ire]P. Howard PS, I Scored the Bridesmaids 132: She drops this, like, assload of papers in my lap.
[US]L. Talley Under the Autumn Sky 80: Regardless of the assload of trouble he was in, he started walking.
ass magazine (n.)

(US) a pornographic magazine.

[US]G. Pelecanos Drama City 135: A couple of ass magazines he used for masturbation.
ass-man (n.)

1. (later use US gay) a male homosexual.

[UK]Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: A—se Man. Sodomites. Said also to belong to Captain Jones’ Company. Invaders of the Back settlements.
[US]T. Thackrey Thief 386: I been an ass-man all my natural born life.
[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass man: 1. a man or boy, whose favorite part of the anatomy is the buttocks; anus; rectum. 2. a man with an [sic] consuming interest in doing the sex act.

2. (also arse-man) a man who finds a woman’s buttocks her most alluring feature; occas. ass woman (see cite 2013).

[US]K. Shapiro Bourgeois Poet 51: A drunken poet roars out across the room: are you a tit man or an ass man? I mumble in reply: high cheekbones.
[US]W. Styron In the Clap Shack 6: Are you an ass man or a tit man, Dadario? Me, I’m an ass man. Someday I’m goin’ to find me an ass with a pair of handles. Then I’m goin’ to really operate.
[US]J. Blime Wifey 46: ‘Big breasts aren’t everything,’ Sandy said. ‘Yeah, I’m an ass man myself,’ Bucky said.
[US]Hatfield & Sprecher Mirror, Mirror 9: The question ‘Are you a breast man, a leg, or an ass man?’ attests to Americans’ focus on sexual traits.
[UK]N. Cohn Yes We have No 29: Rear View [...] the ass-man’s equivalent to an unperforated penny black.
[US]A. Galt Angel Ass 65: ‘Gordon is an ass man,’ Joyce explained. ‘He’s a leg man too, but most especially he’s an ass man.’.
[US]Ambitious Teenager 103: ‘Is that what you are, Stan? An ass man?’ He smiled condescendingly. ‘That’s right, doll. I’m an ass man and a hip man and a cunt man.’.
[US]F. Bill Donnybrook [ebook] Probably had no ass. [...] No matter, she’d still let him give her a poke or two. She wasn’t an ass woman no way.

3. a pimp.

[US]T.I. Rubin Sweet Daddy 32: So I’m an ass man – so that means I gotta diploma in straightening out the queers or something?

4. a successful seducer, a womanizer.

[US]Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
[US]Baker et al. CUSS 72: Ass man A socially adept person [...] A sexually attractive person, male. A sexually expert male.
[US](con. 1950s) H. Junker ‘The Fifties’ in Eisen Age of Rock 2 (1970) 103: After a date they would ask, especially if he had a rep as a hot ticket, an ass man [...] Get much?
[US] in R. Sokolov Wayward Reporter 45: Robert Fistere was [...] ‘a very tough New Yorker [...] an assman and a drinker.’.
[US]H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 26: ass man. One who is successful (sexually) with women; a Don Juan.
ass-master (n.)

(US campus) a general term of abuse.

[US]Da Bomb 🌐 ass-master (n) {offensive} Jerk, idiot; term for someone you don’t like. [University of Delaware, Newark, DE].
ass-munch (n.)

(US) a term of abuse; also as a term of address.

[US]Spin Jan. 73/1: Beavis and Butt-head have invented their own language, and you have to admire how they’ve invented it out of scraps like ‘ass-munch,’ ‘waste of buttwipe,’ ‘change it,’ and ‘someday, Beavis, you’re gonna have urges like me’.
[US]Spin Dec. 56: Forget bunghole, ass-munch; beaver, LSD, masturbation, and marijuana, it’s Beavis’s mantra of ‘fire, fire’ that sets activists aflame.
[US]A. Lane Vulnerable 207: ‘That’s a month, ass-munch.’ She spat, ‘And you don’t really give a shit about how I know, do you?’.
[US]J. Boyer Plaid Avenger’s World 512: As one of the most egregious violators of human rights in recent memory, Pol Pot easily earned the Plaid Avenger title of ‘Ass-munch of the Decade’ for the 1970s.
ass-off (n.)

(US campus) a time-waster.

[US]Baker et al. CUSS 72: Ass-off A person who always fools around.
ass-out (n.)

(US prison) an inmate who has neither advantages nor respect.

[US]Other Side of the Wall: Prisoner’s Dict. July 🌐 Ass Out: A prisoner who has does not have anything coming or who has disrespected officers to the point where they do not give him anything.
ass-pack (n.)

(US) a small pouch-like bag strapped around the wearer’s waist.

[US]L. Uris Battle Cry (1964) 118: The ass pack [...] is rigged so it hangs [...] level with a man’s backside.
[US](con. 1967) Bunch & Cole Reckoning for Kings (1989) 184: Blind Pig reached behind and pulled something from the top of his asspack. He handed Casey’s Thorpe bowie knife to Mosby, who [...] shoved the knife into his buttpack.
[US]N.Y. Mag. 27 July n.p.: You can hop, skip, and jump with this CD player strapped into your ass pack and your music won’t hop, skip, or jump.
USMCWeapons.com 🌐 I would encourage Marines working in boat teams, hitting the beach [...] or crossing rivers and large streams, to use this as an additional safety device, stowing it in the ass pack once that danger is past.
ass peddler (n.)

(US) anyone who sells their body as a prostitute, male or female.

[US]Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 13: ass peddler A prostitute; a whore.
[US]Maledicta III:2 231: He also may or may not know the following words and expressions: ass burglar or ass-bandit, ass peddler (hustler) and ass watcher (cruiser).
[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass peddler: a prostitute, of either sex.
[UK]P. Baker Blood Posse 369: The winos, junkies, ass-peddlers, and petty hustlers were still there.
ass pirate (n.) (also arse pirate) [var. on arse bandit n.]

a male homosexual; note adj. use in cit. 2004.

[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐.
College Sl. Research Project (Cal. Poly., Pomona) 🌐 ass pirate (n) {offensive} Gay male. That guy has to be an ass pirate. [University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN, 1998].
[US]Harvard Indep. 14 Oct. 🌐 Anal play can and should (at least once) be part of a tender loving relationship. Or an ass-pirating one-night stand, whichever comes first.
ass pro (n.) (also aspro, aspra) [abbr. SE prostitute/professional; despite the apparent simplicity of the ety., Hancock, ‘Shelta and Polari’ (1984), suggests Ling. Fr. aspro, money]

(Aus./US) a male homosexual prostitute.

[US]Guild Dict. Homosexual Terms 22: homosexual (n.): One with a sexual attraction for those of the same sex who practices sex exclusively with those of the same sex. Related terms: [...] aspro.
[US]B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 111: a male prostitute [...] ass pro.
[US]Maledicta IX 145: Special terms not much known outside male prostitute circles include aspro.
[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass pro: a male prostitute, a hustler that is known for getting fucked.
[Aus]G. Seal Lingo 116: An aspro was a term for a male prostitute derived from arse pro (arse prostitute).
[NZ]W. Ings ‘Trolling the Beat to Working the Soob’ in Int’l Jrnl Lexicog. 23:1 68: [A]n aspro described a male prostitute who worked the beats.
[UK]P. Baker Fabulosa 288/2: aspro, aspra a prostitute.
ass raider (n.) (US gay)

1. a male homosexual.

[US]R.O. Scott Gay Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass raider: 1. [1980s] term for homosexual man, used in gay bashing. 2. in anal intercourse the man who fucks, as opposed to the one who is being fucked.

2. the active partner in anal intercourse.

see sense 1.
ass-ripper (n.)

1. (US campus) a difficult course or examination.

[US]Baker et al. CUSS.

2. (US) a dive in which a swimmer jumps, holds his nose and hits the water buttocks-first; the aim – and the result – is to make a big splash.

[US]in DARE.
ass-scratcher (n.) (US)

1. a loafer, an idler.

[US]W. Faulkner Pylon 66: And you can thank whatever tutelary ass-scratcher you consider president over the fate [...] of that office.
cybergames.com 🌐 Bite me, you baboon-faced ass-scratcher!

2. something that makes one think; thus ass-scratching adj., thoughtful, cleverly executed.

P. Conroy The Great Santini (1977) 287: That was dog-doo defense. Now let’s do that again. Same four. I wanna see some ass-scratching defense this time.
G. Derian posting at Do-It-Yourself Electronic Fuel Injection 22 Oct. 🌐 I thought of this but the juxtaposition of the parts involved seems to preclude that solution for me....like I’ve said b-4 this is a real ass scratcher.
ass-sucker (n.)

(US) a sycophant, a toady.

[US](con. 1890s) W.L. McAtee Dial. Grant County (IN) Supplement 2: Ass-sucker [...] bootlicker, toady.
[US]in DARE.
[US]Joe McKennon Horse dung trail 220: Only people that call me Mister are ass suckers and stool pigeons.
[US]B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 88: Some horn-rimmed fella who had ass sucker stamped all over his giant forehead.
[US]South Park ep. 306 [TV script] stan: Aw, Dude! Get me out of here! cartman: I think Sexual Harrassment Panda is cool! stan: You would think that, you little ass sucker! cartman: What did you call me? stan: An ass sucker! It means you suck ass!
ACLU Online Community 10 Feb. 🌐 Hey DickCheese? I’m supposed to CARE that you know these people? Or should I be impressed? Or is this just your way of sucking up? Should I [...] surmise you have a BIG preference for sitting around with chocolate on your nose? Ya fucking sniveling ass sucker. Get out!
ass-tickler (n.)

(US) something amusing.

[US]D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 14: Old Billy Clyde’s salary is up there in big figures now, and if you lump three years together, it’s a real ass-tickler.
ass watcher (n.)

(gay) one who walks the streets looking for a potential sexual partner.

[US]Maledicta III:2 231: He also may or may not know the following words and expressions: ass burglar or ass-bandit, ass peddler (hustler) and ass watcher (cruiser).
ass waxing (n.)

(US) a thrashing, a beating.

[US]W. Crawford Gresham’s War 178: You men knock off this cheap shit or get ready for an absolute ass-waxing [HDAS].
Cougfan.com 18 Oct. 🌐 Now this game has ‘major upset’ written all over it [...] Ah, who am I fooling? Look for an ass-waxing of Westwoodian proportions for this one.
www.z92.com 18 Jan. 🌐 Mike’s a big Vikings fan like Todd so the two consoled each other about the Viking’s recent ass waxing.
ass-whipped/-whipping

see separate entries.

ass-wipe/-wiper

see separate entries.

Adjectival or adverbial uses

In phrases

ass-end-backwards (also ass-end up)

in confusion; back-to-front; upside down; thus defeated.

[US] in DARE questionaire.
[US]G. Cuomo Among Thieves 376: It looked to Mel like they were just ass-end up and that was it, sad movies.
[US] in Mother Jones July–Aug. 🌐 People talking about politics usually start from the ass end backwards in that they think you have a political agenda, and then you make your work fit that cookie cutter.
ass-end-to (also ass end foremost)

(US) in confusion.

[US](con. 1890s) W.L. McAtee Dial. Grant County (IN) Supplement 1 n.p.: Ass end foremost [...] backwards [DARE].
[US] in DARE.
ass on backwards

drunk.

[US]Drunktionary 🌐 Ass backwards – Confused. From the phrase’s sense of ‘in a confused manner.’ Ass on backwards.
ass over appetite (also neck over appetite)

(US) head-over-heels (cf. end over appetite under end n.).

H. Fergusson Life of Riley 235: I notice in nearly every cowboy picture they have some horse go ass over appetite.
[US]R.L. Bellem ‘Cooked!’ Dan Turner - Hollywood Detective Jan. 🌐 Dr. Lambert had fallen neck-over-appetite in love with a cute little bleached-blonde extra.
[US]N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 218: The king [...] bounded one short confident step forward, pitched himself ass over appetite, beaned himself beautifully on the table’s edge and crushed flat, shoulders shaking.
[US]Scanlan’s Mag. 1 70: How could a stupid fish [...] suddenly grab you, pull you through the water, lift you up in the air [...] then toss you ass over appetite back into the sea?
[US]N.P. Roth Brave Men All 180: He knocked me ass over appetite across a couple of cots and out the tent flap.
[US]V. Randolph Blow the Candle Out 804: [note] Ass over appetite means no more than head-over-heels, as in the sentence ‘Bill slipped on the top step, and fell ass over appetite’.
[US]D. Castell Cowboy and a Kiss 175: He felt himself fly ass-over-appetite into the air and land butt first in the dirt, jarring every bone in his body.
ass-to-elbow

(US) extremely crowded.

[US](con. 1986) G. Pelecanos Sweet Forever 60: The place was ass-to-elbow, humid all year round, and always smelled like something between piss and perspiration.
ass-to-elbows (adv.)

(US) hard at work.

[US](con. 1972) Jurgenson & Cea Circle of Six 53: [A]ll solid cops already asses-and-elbows into all of the BLA’s players.
have one’s head up someone’s ass (v.)

(US) to be fawningly subservient to (someone); to ‘kiss (someone’s) ass’.

[US]J. Salazar Legion of the Lost 95: ‘Galeski? He has his head up the lieutenant’s ass because he’s up for promotion to chef himself’.
in someone’s ass

(US) nagging.

[US]C. Cooper Jr Farm (1968) 84: The headnurse Miss Harvey, she’s always in yer ass about somethin.
[US]E. Bunker No Beast So Fierce 46: Selam’s gonna be in my ass for being gone so long.
off one’s ass

(US campus) to a very great extent, extremely, completely, usu. ref. to drunkenness.

[US]P. Munro Sl. U. 141: My roommate was wasted off his ass by the time the party was over.
[US]Eble Campus Sl. Nov. 8: off one’s ass – excessively drunk.
[US]‘Randy Everhard’ Tattoo of a Naked Lady 18: He was drunk off his ass.
[US]R. Price Lush Life 127: I was scared [...] I was off-my-ass drunk too .
on one’s ass (also on one’s arse)

1. (orig. US) facing serious problems, esp. financial ones.

[Ire] in S. Dunne Cork Anthology (1993) 406: For they takes us out to Blarney, they lays us on the grass: / They puts us in the family way and leaves us on our ass .
[US]E. Hemingway letter 4 June in Baker Sel. Letters (1981) 413: He is on his ass in Havana having won a gigantic competition which the last revolution buggered up (we lost) so never paid.
[US]J. Blake letter 3 Aug. in Joint (1972) 83: A month or so out of jail, broke and on my ass.
[US]‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 13: Mike is back in town on his bare ass.
[US]E. Torres After Hours 166: They love it when you on yo’ ass.
[NZ]H. Beaton Outside In Act II: Start foolin’ around with traffic and you’ll be right back on your arse! In the digger!
[US](con. 1930s–60s) H. Huncke Guilty of Everything (1998) 269: I became partially involved with the Times Square scene again but not in as beat a way as before, not as much on my ass.
[UK]B. Hare Urban Grimshaw 20: I was on my arse and had little choice but to go back into some form of social work.
[UK]J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 20: Coke-addled Dougie as on his arse and desperately needed funds.
[US]D.R. Pollock Devil All the Time 96: ‘I got enough people on my ass as it is’.

2. (US campus ) ill, sick.

[US]Baker et al. CUSS 72: Ass, on your Have a minor illness, feel sick.
on someone’s ass (also in someone’s ass)

(US) in hot pursuit (of someone); persecuting or harassing someone; thus the opposite off someone’s ass; see also get (on) someone’s ass ; cit. 1950 is simply pron. of ‘ass’

[US](con. 1944) N. Mailer Naked and Dead 439: Croft’s been on my ass the whole time.
[UK]S. Murphy Stone Mad (1966) 184: Why, man, she’s like a cat with kittens until I fork out the wages. Then if I’m short she’s on me house immediately, an’ I get a long sermon on the duties of a father to his children.
[US]‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 1674: Grampy’s on his ass.
[US]Hall & Adelman Gentleman of Leisure 111: I don’t want to work either. But if Silky finds out I didn’t, he’ll be over on my ass.
[US]E. Torres After Hours 149: Norwalk was on Rutledge’s ass already.
[US]N. Proffitt Gardens of Stone (1985) 161: You’d think Flanagan would have done it just to keep Sergeant Hazard off his ass.
[US] P. Munro Sl. U.
[US]S. Morgan Homeboy 200: I’m on his spic ass.
[US]C. Hiaasen Lucky You 184: The chief judge had been on Arthur Battenkill’s ass about clearing the case backlog.
[US]J. Ridley Love Is a Racket 337: Duntphy must have been on my ass all day, watching, waiting.
[US](con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 66: George [has] a running start of ten feet before we are right on his ass.
[US]T. Robinson Rough Trade [ebook] ‘Sorry. I’m cold as hell and Tommy is in my ass’.
on the balls of one’s ass [synon. with SE balls of the feet; ext. of on one’s ass ]

(US) at the nadir of one’s fortunes.

[US]P. Maas Serpico 167: I’m on the balls of my ass, man.
[US]E. Torres After Hours 29: He’s on the balls of his ass.
out on one’s ass (also out on one’s arse)

(orig. US) ejected unceremoniously, thrown out.

[US]‘James Updyke’ [W.R. Burnett] It’s Always Four O’Clock 130: ‘[W]e are out on our asses as of Saturday night’.
[US](con. 1958) R. Farina Been Down So Long (1972) 59: They threw me out [...] Out out on my ass, bump down the stairs.
[US]San Diego Sailor 75: The bitch [...] will have found a new subject to work on and the kid’s out on his ass.
[UK]A. Sillitoe Start in Life (1979) 160: If I’d followed him to the letter I’d have been out on my arse in no time.
[US]A. Maupin Further Tales of the City (1984) 188: She’d better report to me on Friday or she’s out on her ass.
[UK]N. Griffiths Grits 100: If it wuz me, now, ad av yer out on yewer fuckin arse arftyer a week, no, a fuckin dey.
out the ass

(US) excessively.

[US]Eble Campus Sl. Fall 6: out the ass – in large quantities: I have mid-terms out the ass this week. Also up the shit, out the butt, up the bazooka.
[US]D. Jenkins Rude Behavior 210: ‘Man, we’re snowed under. [...] We’ve had drive-bys out the ass, all over town. Seven dead, sixteen wounded’.
[US]Eble Campus Sl. Apr. 5: out the ass – excessive quantities: ‘They had pizza out the ass at the party’. [Ibid.] Nov. 8: out the butt – in an extreme amount or manner.
[UK] letter by US serviceman, dated 13 July in Guardian G2 5 Oct. 2: We are spending money out the ass for this shit.
up the ass

(US) to excess, in large amounts; also adv.

[US]L. Bangs in Psychotic Reactions (1988) 113: That is so fucked up it’s got class up the ass.
[US]T. O’Brien Going After Cacciato (1980) 245: Screwed and skewered [...] Cops up the ass.
[US]E. Bunker Little Boy Blue (1995) 283: Morphine, dilaudid, pantopon ... goofballs and uppers up the ass.
[US]C. Stella Jimmy Bench-Press 2: He’s supposed to be mortgaged up the ass.
[US](con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 12: I was up-the-ass antsy.
up to one’s ass

1. to an extreme extent.

[US] in T.P. Lowry Stories the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell (1994) 36: [He wrote to George about the weather] ‘mud up to a mans ass hear’.
[US]G.V. Higgins Cogan’s Trade (1975) 11: You’re gonna be flying and you’re gonna go in stoned up to your ass.

2. (also up to one’s butt) totally involved in, overwhelmed by.

[US]R. Starnes And When She Was Bad 122: ‘I can prove that you were in that house. Prove, d’ya understand? You are up to your butt in trouble and you don’t have sense enough to know it’.
[US]M. Braly Shake Him Till He Rattles (1964) 107: ‘We’re cutting out.’ [...] ‘Heat. And crap. We’re up to our ass in it here. In New York they’re civilized.’.
[US]L. Bruce Essential Lenny Bruce 61: I’m up to my ass in crutches and wheelchairs.
[US]R. Price Blood Brothers 17: These guys are all prob’ly up to their asses in mortgages.
[US]D. DeLillo Running Dog (1992) 140: He’s up to his ass in it. And it’s climbing fast.
up to one’s ass in alligators [the saying when you’re up to one’s ass ears in alligators, you don’t worry about draining the swamp, often used to imply that one has no time for (long-term liberal) social action, when faced by the immediate threat of criminality]

(US) in very serious troubles, facing overwhelming problems.

[US]W. Diehl Sharky’s Machine 194: Like you say, we’re up to our asses in alligators anyway.
[US]J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 96: We’re up to our ass in alligators.
‘Irregular Ramblings’ at www.skaro.com 24 Aug. 🌐 But anyone can be serene when things are going their way, right? Being able to maintain a polite demeanor whilst up to one’s ass in alligators is indeed the test of it.

General uses

hair across one’s ass (n.)

see under hair n.

how’s your ass?

(US) a general phr. of greeting.

[US]S. Anderson Winesburg I ii: How’s your ass, Jim.
[US](con. 1958) R. Farina Been Down So Long (1972) 18: Give me the Victorian for ‘how’s your ass, ace?’.
[US]B. Gutcheon New Girls (1982) 312: You get past all that trivial bullshit – how’s your work, how’s your ass.
more ass than a toilet seat (also more tail...)

(orig. US) of a man, having an active sex life or conspicuous sexual prowess; usu. as he gets... or he has...

[US]G.V. Higgins Cogan’s Trade (1975) 69: Guy gets more ass’n a toilet seat.
[US]L. Fike TV show about Elvis and Memphis Mafia 14 Aug. [BBC1 TV] We were getting more ass than a toilet seat.
[US](con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 61: ‘I heard he gets more ass than a toilet seat’.
[US]C. Stella Joey Piss Pot 90: ‘That guys gets more tail than a toilet seat’.
one’s ass is grass (also one’s ass is grassed) [onomat. redup.]

(orig. US) one is in severe trouble.

[US] ‘A New Dictionary of Army Language’ in Yeah mag. No. 10 n.p.: your ass is grassed (and I’m the lawnmower): you have had it (lawnmower optional, in disrepute).
[US]G. Scott-Heron Vulture (1996) 10: If he ketch you, yo’ ass iz grass.
[UK]Kirk & Madsen After The Ball 132: Sid – whose ass will soon be grass – pirouettes to the bar.
[US]R. Campbell Wizard of La-La Land (1999) 208: I start yelling a fucking faggot rapist is trying to pull my joint under the fucking table, your ass’s going to be grass.
[US]‘Randy Everhard’ Tattoo of a Naked Lady 38: If Peanut caught me, my ass was grass.
[US]Eminem ‘Groundhog Day’ 🎵 So mow the fucking lawn, your asses are blades of grass.
[US]J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 156: ‘Your camel-fucking ass is grass’.
one’s ass is mud [var. on SE phr. one’s name is mud]

(US) one is in danger, one’s reputation has been destroyed.

[US]R. Gover One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding 42: I so scared my ass gonna be mud, time I git back downstairs.
M. Walsh Oberman, the Footnote 🌐 It’s time to play hardball, Oberman, and you’re either in or you’re out. You ice Snow White or your ass is mud.
‘Chuck’ Lakin University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and the Arizona Historical Society Oral Hist. Programs 29 Apr. 🌐 ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ He said, ‘Buddy, your ass is mud’ and he explained briefly what happened.
one’s ass sucks wind (Aus./US)

1. (also one’s ass sucks blue mud) one is talking (hysterical) nonsense; esp. as a threat, your ass will suck wind when/unless...

[US]H. Rhodes Chosen Few (1966) 73: We don’t tolerate fuckoff’s here ... your ass will suck wind before this day is over.
[US]H. Selby Jr Demon (1979) 15: Aaaahhhh bullshit, waving at Harry with disgust [...] You ass sucks wind.
[US]Maledicta 1 (Summer) 14: If he is particularly ignorant or foolish, and proves it by talking loudly or a lot about things [...] his ass is sucking blue mud.

2. (also one’s ass sucks putty, one’s butthole sucks wind) one is very angry or disgusted.

[US]J. Yount Trapper’s Last Shot (1974) 81: Let’s get this over with. This place makes my ass suck putty.
[US]J. Lansdale Rumble Tumble 34: It might make my supervisor’s butt hole suck wind, but I’ve got some more vacation time coming.

Verbs with one’s/someone’s

In phrases

bet one’s (sweet) ass

see separate entry.

be up someone’s ass

(US) to nag, to harass.

[US]D. Swierczynski California Bear 40: I had to go take care of something [...] [o]therwise the wife would be up my ass all day.”.
can’t find one’s ass with both hands (in broad daylight) (v.) (also ...butt with both hands, ...tail with both hands)

to be completely incompetent, with overtones of stupidity or intoxication.

[US]May, tale #50 recorded in V. Randolph Pissing in the Snow (1976) 76: He was just a big country boy, all pecker and feet, the kind of a fellow that couldn't find his butt with both hands in broad daylight.
[[US]New Yorker 4 Nov. 26: They were so dumb they couldn’t find their nose with both hands].
[US]H.A. Smith Life in a Putty Knife Factory 196: ‘He knows all about Freud, but otherwise he’s so dumb he couldn't find his butt with both hands’.
W.C. Fields in Cerf Shake Well Before Using n.p.: ‘That fellow is so dumb he can’t find his backside with both hands’.
[[Ire]J. Berry The Hills of Home 10: When describing how drunk or how dumb anyone was, he would invariably say, 'Aye, a shame it is, and he couldn't find his behind with both hands right now.'".
[Mirror News (Los Angeles, CA) 12 Feb. 25/3: ‘Ozarkians will understand when I say Harry [S. Truman] couldn’t find his backside with both hands’.
[US]J. Keene Texas Pistol 57: ‘Old Iron Pants can't find his ass with both hands and he knows it’.
A. Budrys ‘Falling Torch’ in Venture Science Fiction Jan. 24: ‘Hammil’s a clown. If he didn’t have me and Ladislas, he couldn’t find his tail with both hands’.
[[US]Life 27 Jan. 106: ‘[T]his one kid from our block who we know can't find his bottom with both hands in the dark’].
L.B. Johnson in Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS) 7 Aug. F3/6: ‘He can’t find his butt with both hands,’ snorted the President of the United States].
[[US]W.D. Jennings Cowboys 118: The Old Woman sniffed at the sky and said, ‘It so dark you can't find your nose with both hands’].
[US]M.D. Harrell Night of the Ranger 290: ‘[Y]ou come back and trip over me because you can’t find your fucking ass with both hands’.
[US]D.J.H. Jones Murder at the MLA 99: Boaz chose not to inform Malley [...] that the correct phrase, which is Ozarkan, is ‘couldn’t find his butt with both hands in broad daylight’.
[US]McGraw Hill Dict. Amer. Idioms 74/2: can’t find one’s butt with both hands (in broad daylight) Sl. is stupid or incompetent [...] Why did they put Jim in charge? He can’t find his butt with both hands!
[US]C. Cromwell Note 175: ‘[I]f you can't find him now you probably couldn’t find your ass with both hands’.
[US]F. Bill Back to the Dirt 161: ‘[S]ome nights we’re so busy we can’t find our asses with both hands’.
carry one’s ass

(US/W.I., Bdos/Trin.) to leave, to run off.

[US]C. Shafer ‘Catheads [...] and Cho-Cho Sticks’ in Abernethy Bounty of Texas (1990) 200: ‘Carry your ass!’ v. – ‘Go away!’.
carry someone’s ass

to beat someone.

[US]E. Bunker Mr Blue 367: He had certainly carried my clumsy ass on the handball court more than once.
chap someone’s ass (also chap someone’s rear) [SE chap, to crack the skin]

(US) to annoy, to irritate.

[UK]M. Terry Old Liberty (1962) 7: It kind of chapped my rear, if you know what I mean.
[US](con. WWII) D. Westheimer Song of the Young Sentry (1969) 143: ‘Because you’re so damn fatheaded it chaps my ass,’ Moran said.
[US]M.G. Williams homepage 21 June 🌐 Someone stole my pizza at work. Now, I suppose this could be minor. I mean, after all, it’s only food. It’s only a few bucks. There are bigger problems in this world. However, it really just chapped my ass that someone would blatantly steal an entire 2/3 of a huge pizza.
[US]M. Jones 25 Nov. [email] Keep fighting the good fight. Like you, it has always chapped my ass when a big company steamrollers a little guy with legal fees and legalese. Good luck.
climb up someone’s ass

(US) to subject to pressure.

[US]C. Stroud Close Pursuit (1988) 214: They’re climbing up my ass already on the rape-homicide thing [...] and so far I don’t see diddly on that one.
eat someone’s ass off/out

(US) to criticize severely, to punish heavily; thus ass-eating n.

[US]R. Chandler High Window (1964) 425: Too late to mention it now. They’d eat my ass off.
[US](con. 1944) J.H. Burns Gallery (1948) 334: Ya ain’t ate out nobody’s arse except Dimplepuss? Ya ain’t give none of us a bad time.
[US]J. Jones From Here to Eternity (1998) 856: He grabbed a BAR and clip bag for himself [...] making a mental note to eat Malleaux’s ass out.
[US]J. Thompson Alcoholics (1993) 30: Not that Rufus hadn’t deserved an A-1 ass-eating.
[US]‘Tom Pendleton’ Iron Orchard (1967) 48: Cap Brunner would make no mention of the error other than giving Pucketts a private ‘ass-eating’.
[US]D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 20: Eat his ass up is all you’re gonna do.
[US](con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 19: I’d get right in a guy’s face when I ate his ass.
[US]D. Reese Sailor Boy 184: Jim should remember, the man had eat his ass out enough times that he could never forget.
[US] J. Jones Ice-Cream Headache 34: There may be some bad effects. I may even get an ass-eating.
fan one’s ass (US black)

1. to move one’s buttocks in an exaggerated manner with the deliberate intention of attracting one’s audience sexually; usu. of homosexuals.

[US]R. Klein Jailhouse Jargon and Street Sl. [unpub. ms.].

2. to move, to walk.

[Can](con. 1920s) O.D. Brooks Legs 31: If you’re that goddamn hungry, fan your ass into the bush and rustle up some firewood while I wash a pan to fry the ham and eggs.
fix someone’s ass

(US) to cause trouble for, to attack, to ‘do for’.

[US]Kerouac On the Road (The Orig. Scroll) (2007) 170: Tell that Texas sonofabitch if my brother ain’t out of jail tomorrow night he’s going to get his ass fixed.
[US](con. 1948) G. Mandel Flee the Angry Strangers 359: I fixed Wengel’s ass good.
[US]C. Brown Life and Loves of Mr Jiveass Nigger (2008) 89: When he was finished with her he was gonna fix her ass like it was never fixed before.
[US]B. Conn in Heller In This Corner (1974) 225: He says [...] ‘You had to get fresh. I fixed your ass for you.’.
[US]E. Torres Carlito’s Way 57: I’ll fix your Jew ass.
[US]J. Webb Sense of Honor 225: Let’s fix his ass. Tonight.
[US]V. McGlothlin Every Sistah Wants It 291: This is between me and Isaiah, and I’m gonna make sure I fix his ass once and for all.
get in someone’s ass (also put oneself in someone’s face)

1. (US) to annoy, to irritate.

[US]C. Himes Crazy Kill 12: He keeps putting himself in my face no matter how hard I [...] show him I ain’t interested.
[US](con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 53: He’s working an extradition gig with a Vegas cop, and he gets in the guy’s face in the worst possible way.

2. (US black) to hit.

[US]E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 105: A number of terms for fighting warn the opponent [...] just where he can expect a fist or knuckle to fall – [...] figuratively if not literally get in or bust one’s ass.
get one’s ass handed to one (v.)

to be overcome; to be beaten severely.

[US]T. Fontana ‘A Game of Checkers’ Oz ser. 1 ep. 8 [TV script] We love to root for the underdog [...] when one team is getting their assed handed to them and they’re headed to the locker room, we say a silent prayer.
[Aus]J.J. DeCeglie Drawing Dead [ebook] I made a desperate play. I had to. I was getting my ass handed to me.
[US]T. Robinson Rough Trade [ebook] I also knew enough martial arts to recognize that I knew just enough martial arts to get my ass handed to me by someone who knew what they were doing.
[US]S.A. Crosby Blacktop Wasteland 94: ‘Them good ol’ boys always telling us to get over slavery, but they can’t get over having their ass handed to them by Sherman’.
get one’s ass in a crack (also get one’s tail in a crack, ...trap, have one’s tail in a crack)

(US) to get into difficulties, esp. in a criminal context.

[[US] ‘Criminal Argot’ AS LVII:4 (1982) 261: crack. Tight place].
[US]H. McCoy Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye in Four Novels (1983) 224: It was the same on both sides of the track. A tail in a crack was a tail in a crack.
[US]H. McCoy Corruption City 88: Never mind your professional prestige [...] We’ve got our tails in a crack.
[US]E. Shepard Doom Pussy 59: The friendlies have their ass in a crack.
[US]‘Red’ Rudensky Gonif 109: I pitied any gonif who got his tail in their [i.e. the police] trap now.
[US](con. 1970) S. Wright Meditations in Green (1985) 196: My mother told me I’d regret coming over here. She said I’d get my ass in a crack like this and praying wouldn’t help.
[Aus]Hackworth & Sherman About Face (1991) 30: My ass was in the worst crack ever.
[US]G.V. Higgins At End of Day (2001) 151: He got his tail caught in the crack, because he fucked up on some other little piss-ant job.
get one’s ass in an uproar

see under uproar n.

get one’s ass in(to) gear

see under gear n.

get one’s ass on one’s shoulder(s) (also get one’s ass on one’s back) [the shrugging gesture, which raises one’s shoulders and thus, fig. one’s posterior + ? ext. of get one’s ass up ]

(US) to become haughty, angry or excited but with no proper cause, to put on airs.

[US](con. 1920s–30s) J.O. Killens Youngblood (1956) 135: All them Harlem negroes got their ass on their shoulders. Think they better than the colored down here. [Ibid.] 182: If anybody think they white, it’s you [...] Come back here with your nose in the air and your ass on your shoulder.
[US]N.C. Folklore 9-14 40/1: Has his ass on his shoulder [is angry].
[US]R.D. Pharr S.R.O. (1998) 240: ‘Since you you got your ass way up on your back, Mister Bastid, you can at least give us cab fare’.
[US]W. Brown Tragic Magic 43: Girls never dug her either. They always thought she had her ass on her shoulders.
[US](con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 133: That veteran is jacked up. His ass is right up next to his shoulders when we talk.
[US](con. 1930s) C.E. Lincoln The Avenue, Clayton City (1996) 9: Don’t get your ass up on your shoulders just ’cause you’re shit-colored.
[US]Busta Rhymes ‘Ass on your Shoulders’ 🎵 on Genesis [album] Actin’ too good for niggas with your ass on your shoulders / But now you’ll be fuckin’ a nigga till he fall in a coma.
get one’s ass out of joint

(US) to lose one’s temper.

[US]J. Thompson Criminal (1993) 53: Always tossing weight around and getting nothing but his ass out of joint.
get one’s ass up

(US) to annoy, to irritate, to infuriate.

[US] in D. Ahearn Forts of Upper Missouri 289: I guess he got his a— up because I did not address him as Col .
[US]J. Wambaugh Blue Knight 96: I’m always the first one to get my ass up when the brass tries to restrict my freedom.
get one’s head out (of one’s ass)

see under head n.

get (on) someone’s ass (also get (on) someone’s arse, ...tail)

1. to pressurize, to harass, to nag.

[US]J.T. Farrell ‘Jo-Jo’ in Short Stories (1937) 143: The old lady is sure gettin’ on my tail pretty hard. She threatens to kick me out.
[US]H. Selby Jr Last Exit to Brooklyn 286: Wait till the cops get on her ass, leavin the kids alone like that.
[US]J. Langone Life at the Bottom 53: Like I’ve always had a tough time bending when someone gets on my ass.
[US]N. Pileggi Wiseguy (2001) 200: I knew Robin was going to get on my ass.
[US]S. Morgan Homeboy 260: If he gets on Speaker’s ass, let me know immediately.
[US]Simon & Burns ‘Old Cases’ Wire ser. 1 ep. 4 [TV script] Tell Bodey we’re on his ass.

2. to annoy.

[US]H. Simmons Corner Boy 101: Shut up, youse guys. You get on me arsh.
[US]T.C. Bambara ‘Talking Bout Sonny’ in Gorilla, My Love (1972) 83: Women get on my ass. Truly.
get up in someone’s ass

(US black) to assault.

[US]J. Ridley Love Is a Racket 416: I’, ’bout to be up in yo ass with some serious shit, muthafucka!
go up someone’s ass (v.)

(US) to infuriate, to annoy.

[US]T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘[T]his cloak and dagger bullshit you’re feeding me is going right up my ass’.
hand someone their ass (v.)

1. (US) to dismiss from employment.

[US](con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 190: ‘You’re gonna get fired. Sechiano’s gonna hand you your ass’.

2. to beat up, to assault; thus n. ass-handing, a beating.

[US]F. Bill Back to the Dirt 11: [I]f he got caught handing Kimball his ass he could lose his job.
[US]F. Bill Back to the Dirt 100: ‘[Y]ou still got a good ass handing coming down from me again, you swindler’.
hang one’s ass out (also hang one’s fanny out) [fanny n.1 (3)] (US)

to run a risk, to risk one’s life (cf. have one’s ass hanging (out) ).

[US]E. Shepard Doom Pussy 65: You’re a mighty snazzy chicken to be hanging your fanny out coverin’ this cockeyed hassle.
[US] (ref. to c.1967) L. Cleveland Dark Laughter 63: Other songs joked about ‘hanging out your ass’ on dangerous missions.
have a bug up one’s ass (also have a roach up one’s ass)

1. to be in a bad temper.

[US]E. Torres Carlito’s Way 14: Sometime Moran the cop would get a bug up his ass and grab me.
[US](con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 102: I think he had a roach up his ass, ’cause it’s slow. He was pissed off ’cause the electrician from Con Ed [...] didn’t show up.
[US](con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 281: Somebody stopped over last night and put a bug up my ass.

2. to be obsessed.

[US](con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 327: ‘Would a large sum of money persuade you?’ [...] ‘No. [...] I’ve got a bug up my ass. I’m not for sale’.
have a foot up one’s ass

(US black) to be treated unfairly, to be victimized.

[US]C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 354: How the hell are you gon stop bein’ mad when you’ve got a foot up in your ass?
have a stick up one’s ass (also have an oar up one’s ass, ...a pole...)

to be totally and irredeemably boring; such a stick would render one physically, and thus mentally, rigid.

[US]L.F. Cooley Run For Home (1959) 127: Loosen up! You look like you’ve got an oar up your ass!
[US]D. Simmons ‘Terms Used in a Men’s Dormitory’ in AS XLII:4229: have a stick up (one’s) ass, v. phr. An expression indicating that the individual thus described is so boring that the speaker did not enjoy his company.
[US]S. King Stand (1990) 524: Her father ‘had a stick up his ass’ about Ronnie, her boyfriend.
[US]Eble Campus Sl. Fall 5: pole up one’s ass/ butt – anxiety, moodiness.
[US]C. Forte Feola’s Cross 294: Grafton [...] walked as if he had a stick up his ass. A pompous grin was plastered on his thin, egotistical mouth.
[US]P. McGilligan Backstory 4 184: The hero has a stick up his ass: he’s a horribly difficult guy to get on with.
have a (wild) hair up one’s ass

see under hair n.

have one’s ass hanging (out) (also have one’s arse hanging out)

(US) to run a risk, to risk one’s life (cf. hang one’s ass out ).

[US]B. Schulberg Harder They Fall 231: Three months ago your ass was hanging out.
[US]B. Schulberg Waterfront (1966) 243: The round-collar bastard leaves me standin’ here with my ass hangin’ out.
[US]P. Thomas Down These Mean Streets (1970) 322: You remember all that crap you went through? What you want to do, go on for the rest of your life with your ass hangin’?
[US]N. De Mille Smack Man (1991) 46: Okay, you big, bad, motherfucking pimp, your ass is still hanging out so you got a lot of cooperating to do.
[US](con. 1975–6) E. Little Steel Toes 121: Whatcha gonna do? Stand there with your arse hangin’ out?
[US]Simon & Burns ‘Ebb Tide’ Wire ser. 2 ep. 1 [TV script] The customs seal is broke. Somebody’s gonna see it. Our asses are hangin’ out here.
have one’s ass in the wind (also have one’s ass in the air, ...out on a wire)

(US) to be exposed to trouble or danger.

[US]H. Rhodes Chosen Few (1966) 81: ‘Later she told Darly she was a fool to give it away to a poor spook with his ass in th’ wind.’ ‘Looks like her ass is in th’ wind now ... what’s Darly gonna do?’.
[US]B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 52: There lay Ben Lair with his ass in the air.
[US]W.D. Ehrhart Passing Time (1988) 16: Christ there I am, eighteen years old, got my ass out on a wire, and here’s Trinh telling me to go suck an egg.
have one’s ass working buttonholes

(US) to work extremely hard.

[US]‘Tom Pendleton’ Iron Orchard (1967) 15: That Brunner’ll have yo’ ass workin’ buttonholes ’fore sundown t’morra. Run you off inside of a week.
have one’s nose up someone’s ass/arse

see under nose n.

have someone’s ass (also have someone’s arse, ...rear)

1. to reprimand severely, to punish.

[US]‘Ed Lacy’ Men from the Boys (1967) 65: He lowered his voice. ‘Union would have my rear if they knew.’.
[US]M. Rumaker Exit 3 and Other Stories 58: SP’s’ll have my ass for sure.
[US]D. Goines Daddy Cool (1997) 101: You filthy-mouthed white motherfucker you, I’ll have your ass for this!
[US]G.V. Higgins Patriot Game (1985) 175: You take care of this, Seats, and I mean it, or I’m gonna have your ass six ways to Sunday.
[NZ]H. Beaton Outside In I i: Fuck me! They’ll have her arse!
[US]T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 4: Your ass is had, if you do that.
[US]N. Green Shooting Dr. Jack (2002) 223: He’d have both of our asses.

2. to trick, to ‘get (someone) going’.

[US]G. Pelecanos Night Gardener 9: I’m kiddin’ you, Giuseppe. Oh, Christ, but I had your ass.
have (someone) up one’s ass (v.)

(US) to be suffering pressure.

[US]R. Cea No Lights, No Sirens 237: ‘These motherfuckers are up our asses dry’.
[US]F. Bill Donnybrook [ebook] ‘Got two gunshot victims, Child Services up my ass like two dozen hemorrhoids ready to burst’.
hold (on to) one’s ass

(US) to be patient.

[US](con. 1969) M. Herr Dispatches 220: Hold on to your ass awhile. You people from the electronic media don’t scare me anymore.
jack it up someone’s ass

(US) to punish or victimize someone.

[US](con. 1966) P. Conroy Lords of Discipline 93: The three seniors [...] screaming at me that they were going to jack it up my ass for interfering.
jump through one’s ass (also jump through one’s butt)

(US) to panic, to lose control, to be terrified.

[US]E. Shrake Strange Peaches 11: ‘They’d jump through their butt if they saw this [i.e. sensor-operated lighting] in Cotulla’.
Levontaun Diaryland.com 11 Jun. 🌐 The next morning I woke up late, so I was jumping through my ass (not literally) trying to make it to Portland for my flight.
jump (up) someone’s ass (also jump on someone’s ass, jump up someone’s butt)

(US) to attack, verbally or physically.

[US]National Lampoon Oct. 84: My old man’s been jumping up my butt ever since I racked up the Pinto [HDAS].
[US]Sepe & Telano Cop Team 141: You little no good hump [...] I’m gonna jump your ass.
[US](con. 1969) C.R. Anderson Grunts 80: I ain’t gonna get my ass jumped again today.
[US]E. Little Another Day in Paradise 131: You want some of my fine brown ass go ahead and jump on it.
‘RC Cola of Evil’ Daily Recap 21 Aug. 🌐 Blake tells Edmund to jump up his ass and die.
http://brightestyoungthings.com 15 Sept. 🌐 All the old folks jumped up my butt for suggesting they should be more open-minded.
keep one’s foot in someone’s ass

(US black) to pressurize someone, to treat badly.

[US]‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 181: He liked to beat me and screw me. [...] He kept his foot in my ass.
kick someone’s ass (also belt someone’s ass)

1. (orig. US) to give someone, occas. something a beating, to defeat someone; also fig. (see cite 2020).

[US](con. 1915) ‘W.W. Windstaff’ ‘A Flier’s War’ in Longstreet Canvas Falcons (1970) 270: Chunky said, ‘Well, kick my shaggy ass.’ ‘The bloody war will, Yank.’.
[US]B. Schulberg What Makes Sammy Run? (1992) 12: I’d like to kick his little ass for him.
[US]M. Spillane Return of the Hood 9: Two days before I had belted his ass from one end of 45th and Second all the way to the next corner.
[US]‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 83: You needed your ass kicked.
[US]E. Torres After Hours 104: I shoulda kicked his ass.
[US]E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 79: Dat heifer do it again, I’ma kick her ass!
[UK]Guardian Guide 2–8 Oct. 15: They all wanted to kick my ass because I’m white.
[US]C. Hiaasen Skinny Dip 214: The man kicked your ass.
[UK]B. Keys in Richards Life 152: Who are these pasty-faced, funny-talking, skinny legged guys [...] I’ll kick their asses!
[US]D.R. Pollock Devil All the Time 57: ‘Hell, man, what about kicking his ass? [...] Take a shovel to the bastard’s head’.
[US]S.A. Crosby Blacktop Wasteland 156: ‘Cuz you the only black guy who owns a garage that’s been getting its ass kicked’.
[US](con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 78: I kicked his ass outside Dale’s Secret Harbor.

2. to exhaust, to wear out.

[US](con. 1970) J.M. Del Vecchio 13th Valley (1983) 83: Thaht ruck goan kick your ass.
G. Pelecanos Nick’s Trip 19: Billy’s construction job was kicking his ass so he asked to come along.

3. (US black) to defeat intellectually.

[US]Eble Campus Sl. Spring 4: kick my ass – to be difficult: That exam kicked my ass.
[US]D.H. Sterry Chicken (2003) 43: ‘I’m feeling incredibly existential’ [...] ‘Yeah, those nuns’ll kick yer ass.’ She grins.

4. to render intoxicated.

[US]C. Stella Jimmy Bench-Press 139: It’ll kick your ass by the third glass [...] you’re a rookie so you need an ass-kicking.
light someone’s ass up (v.)

(US) to beat someone up.

[US]F. Bill Back to the Dirt 12: ‘You gonna tug on that cancer stick all damn night or you gonna light his ass up?’ ‘I’m gonna ignite his ass like napalm, motherfucker’.
lose one’s ass (US)

1. in gambling or other financial transaction, to lose heavily.

[UK]J. Phillips Maronides (1678) VI 147: The signe of Gridiron on this place, / Shews you shall lose you very Arse. / [...] / Fair Tarquel look for his advice, / Will teach thee how to cogg thy dice.
[US]W. Tevis Hustler (1998) 88: He [...] invariably lost his ass.
[US]W. Diehl Sharky’s Machine 226: I came up a heavy winner in a poker game and Danzler lost his ass.
[US]‘Heat Moon’ Blue Highways 286: Angus lost his ass in a taco franchise.
[US]G.P. Pelecanos Firing Offense 18: We bring ‘em through the door, pass a few out, lose our asses—we’ll make it up on add-ons’.
[US]C. Hiaasen Stormy Weather 188: You and mamí been losin’ your fat asses at the Miccosukee bingo.

2. to act irrationally, to lose control of one’s life (usu. through drug addiction).

Perry Wolff Friend 32: If he ever wrote [...] to the inspector general, someone would lose their ass [HDAS].
[US]G. Pelecanos Soul Circus 166: Was she pretty like you? [...] Probably not when she was geekin’ behind that shit [i.e. crack cocaine]. They lose their ass at that point.
pull something out of one’s ass

(US) to invent or produce something, apparently ‘by magic’.

arvindn ‘Outright Discrimination’ posting 29 Jul. on Slashdot.org 🌐 Besides, if someone values their vote at less than a meal or two (not 5, your pulling that out of your ass), then they’re probably voting because someone paid them Rs 10 to do so.
put one’s foot in/up someone’s ass (also have one’s foot up someone’s ass, shove a foot up someone’s ass)

(US black) to attack someone physically; to treat someone unkindly.

[US]B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 114: If I wasn’t so sick I’d get up and put my feet in your mothefucken ass.
[US]Milner & Milner Black Players 42: Pimping ‘hard’ on a woman or using violence to keep her in line is called shoving a foot up her ass.
[US]‘Iceberg Slim’ Airtight Willie and Me 34: Maybe she done got freakish to his foot in her ass.
[US](con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 201: If I ever saw one of my Marines do that in the field, I’d have my foot so far up his ass, it would hit his heart.
[US]B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 12: I’ll be more than willing to put my foot right up your ass.
[US]T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘In other words, I can put my foot up the right asses’.
put someone’s ass out

to eject, to throw out, to send away.

[US](con. 1960s) D. Goines Black Gangster (1991) 44: If it does [happen], I’m puttin’ your ass out.
run one’s ass off

to move at high speed, esp. in the context of searching.

[US]C. Cooper Jr Scene (1996) 43: He could make people wait and run their asses off [...] looking for him.
save one’s ass

(orig. US) to take care of oneself, to save oneself; esp. in phr. couldn’t — to save one’s ass.

[US]B. Jackson Get Your Ass in the Water (1974) 165: Now the Monkey got to think and think fast / if he wanna save his little old hairy ass.
[US]E. Torres Carlito’s Way 25: Marlon Brando sit in on conga (couldn’t play to save his ass).
[US]R. Campbell In La-La Land We Trust (1999) 87: Ready to drop the others in the pot to save his own ass from excution.
[US]S. Frank Get Shorty [film script] I wouldn’t let her if she tried. Why I’m here, Leo, basically, is to save your ass.
[US]G.V. Higgins At End of Day (2001) 74: When somebody gets caught, he’ll almost always sell a friend to save his own white ass.
[UK]K. Richards Life 12: And that’s what saved our asses on many occasions.
shake one’s ass (also shake ass)

1. (orig. US) to hurry up.

[US](con. WWII) J.O. Killens And Then We Heard The Thunder (1964) 34: I mean that stud was shaking ass!
[US]P. Thomas Down These Mean Streets (1970) 165: Hey, Pi-ri! [...] shake your ass, man. This heah meter is countin’ his mother off.
[US](con. 1940s) C. Bram Hold Tight (1990) 68: Shake your ass, honey. We haven’t got all night.
[US]N. Green Shooting Dr. Jack (2002) 131: You shook your ass right out of your bunk.

2. (US) to move vigorously as in sexual intercourse or dancing.

[US] ‘Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck’ [comic strip] in B. Adelman Tijuana Bibles (1997) 41: Shake yer ass, Minnie – Gosh but this is great.
[US]R. Abrahams Deep Down In The Jungle 235: Go on, son, shake ass, son, shake ass.
[US]Eble Campus Sl. Nov. 6: shake it like a polaroid – dance. Also shake your ass.
[US]‘Grandmaster Flash’ Adventures 109: One to two-thirty was prime time [...] and you were about to shake your ass for ninety minutes straight.
show one’s ass

(US black) to appear foolish; to show off, to make an exhibition of oneself.

[US]N. Heard Howard Street 219: Whyn’t you cool it [...] Ain’t you showed your ass enough?
[US]Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 showing one’s ass Definition: a person that is showin off Example: Hey nigga quit showin yo azz or i will bust a cap in ya azz, mothafucka!
sit there with one’s finger up one’s ass (also sit there with one’s thumb up one’s ass, stand around with one’s finger/thumb up (one’s ass))

(US) to be passive, unresponsive, idle and useless; often abbr. to with one’s finger/thumb up one’s ass.

[US]E. Hunter ‘See Him Die’ in Jungle Kids (1967) 100: Doin’ what? Standin’ in a doorway with your thumb up?
[US](con. 1950) E. Frankel Band of Brothers 136: What did you want me to do? Sit here with my thumb up my ass, waiting for you?
[US]H. Selby Jr Demon (1979) 92: I can do a thousand times better with a finger up my ass whistling Dixie.
[UK]D. Poyer Med 150: Balls to the wall for some big event, then spend the next two weeks with your thumb up your ass.
[US]C. Cook Robbers (2001) 191: I’m Johnny Ray Matthews, and I won’t sit around with my thumb up my ass watching you and Miss Fancy Pants ride a bicycle made for two.
[US]Simon & Burns ‘Cradle of Civilization’ Generation Kill ep. 2 [TV script] Here we sit with our thumbs up our asses while marines are dying a few kicks up the road.
[US]T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘Then why don’t you stay here with your thumb up your ass and let me go meet with these jerkoffs’.
stick it up someone’s ass

1. (US) to betray, to let down.

[US]C. Cook Robbers (2001) 191: First time I ain’t watching my back you stick it up my ass.

2. to humiliate.

[US]R. Campbell Alice in La-La Land (1999) 50: He gives away two hundred bucks just for the pleasure of sticking it up my ass for five seconds.
suck someone’s ass [the perceived humiliation of anilingus]

(orig. US black) to toady to, to be subservient to, to curry favour.

[US]H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1963) 78: For the price of a drink he will suck any [...] ass.
[US]J. Jones To Reach Eternity (1989) 113: He bought a lot & ol Eddie was sure sucking his ass .
J. Elllroy Brown’s Requiem 63: ‘[I]t's the guys who suck ass with the caddy master who get that action’.
take the foot out of one’s ass

(US black) to rid oneself of ill treatment, of victimization, exploitation.

[US]C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 354: You got to try and take the foot out of your ass.
think the sun shines out of someone’s ass (also ...arse, ...bum)

(orig. US) to worship someone, to act extremely sycophantically.

[Aus]F.J. Hardy Outcasts of Foolgarah (1975) 29: No man is more gullible [...] than the Australian, who really believes the sun shines nowhere else except out of his arse.
[UK]P. Reading ‘Nips’ in Diplopic 37: Bumpkins, from whose bums / you consider the sun shines, / think youre townee twits.
[UK]P. Barker Blow Your House Down 7: Sun shines out of his arse as far as she’s concerned.
[US](con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 4: I was one of those kids who thought that the sun shone out of his ass.
[UK]P. Bailey Kitty and Virgil (1999) 44: Joan had this thing about the English aristocracy, thought the sun shone out of their arses.
[UK]J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 137: There’s a detective sergeant, thinks the sun shines out my arse.
[NZ]McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.
[US]D. Winslow Winter of Frankie Machine (2007) 43: Zitello was wearing a wire, while Mouse Senior thought the sun shone out of his ass.
tuck it up someone’s ass

to humiliate.

[US](con. 1950s) McAleer & Dickson Unit Pride (1981) 282: Miller’s ol’ lady will be out on the street the night she gets this letter, letting everyone who comes along bang her, just to tuck it up Calvin’s ass for spite.
wet someone’s ass [the wetness of blood]

(US black) to shoot someone.

[US]Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 wet someone’s ass Definition: to shoot someone. Example: Nigga keep mad doggin me nam finna wet that ass.

General verbs

In phrases

ass about [SE ass, donkey; note arse about under arse v., although the homonymity with US ass and arse is coincidental]

to play the fool.

[UK]Kipling ‘The Flag of Their Country’ Complete Stalky & Co. (1987) 207: I’m not goin’ to ass about the country with a toy Snider.
[UK]A.J. Worrall Eng. Idioms for Foreign Students 1: Those boys are not working; they are just assing about [OED].
[US]T. Anderson Your Own Beloved Sons 41: He don’t get all the attention he’s used to, so he asses about.
[US]H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 25: Herewith, a sampling of the more common variations on the asinine theme: ass (about or around), to. To fool around, schoolboy talk.
ass around

(US) to play around, to wander around (in a foolish manner).

[UK]G. Kersh They Die with Their Boots Clean 56: I’ll put any of you inside that I ketch pointing rifles or assing around with bayonets.
[US]F. Paley Rumble on the Docks (1955) 134: She goes assing around telling everybody my business.
[US](con. 1920s–30s) J.O. Killens Youngblood (1956) 23: You nigger, quit assing around.
[US](con. WWII) J.O. Killens And Then We Heard The Thunder (1964) 213: Take ten, men [...] take anything but a crap, we don’t have that much time to ass around.
[US]‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 167: Stop assing around, Jack.
ass out

1. (US black) to rush away.

[US](con. c.1967) J. Ferrandino Firefight 152: The guys [...] brought tokens to Pisspot in the hopes of having some of its luck rub off on them, so they could ass-out the way Romo had.
[US]P. Beatty Tuff 151: He’d be left standing alone [...] The Fourth Stooge assed out like a motherfucker.
[US]‘Touré’ Portable Promised Land (ms.) 157: We Words (My Favorite Things) [...] Sho nuff. Bust this. Ass out. Break out. Bug out. Kick it.

2. (US campus) to make a fool of oneself.

Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 ass out v 1. to make a fool of oneself while under the influence of a substance, usually liquor. (‘Oh, man, last night I assed out!’).

3. (US campus) to go to sleep.

[US]Eble Campus Sl. Fall 1: ass-out – to go to sleep, to go to sleep quickly.
ass up

(US black) to take drugs.

[US]Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 assing up Definition: getting intoxicated Example: Yo, man, we was assin’ up last night on the best coke I ever had!
bring ass to get ass (also bring ass to whip ass) [fig. use of sense 2 above]

(US) to take a risk in order to make a gain.

[US]F.L. Brown Trumbull Park 352: If they want to whip ass they’ll have to bring ass.
[US]R. Carter Sixteenth Round (1991) 129: I was going to let him know that he would have to bring ass to get ass.
[US]P. Hamill Flesh and Blood (1978) 47: They gotta bring ass to get ass, and they just ain’t gonna get ass.
[US](con. c.1970) G. Hasford Phantom Blooper 15: In Viet Nam nice guys do not finish at all and monsters live forever. You got to bring ass to get ass.
Indignant Online 27 Apr. 🌐 My late Grandfather had a more direct way of saying this universal truth. When someone said that they are going to kick your ass, his response was, ‘you gotta bring ass to get ass.’).
bust ass

1. (US) to travel very fast.

[US]H. Ellison Rockabilly (1963) 60: He fished in his wallet and brought out a bill [...] ‘This is for the baby if you bust your ass making it over there,’ and was thrown back against the seat cushions as the cab careered away from the kerb.
[US]M. Lacher On the Bro’d 159: [I]t looked like a pretty sick time [i.e. a side-trip to Mexico] but we had to bust some ass.
[UK]M. Collins Keepers of Truth 186: So here we were, busting ass out on the road.
[US]M. Lacher On the Bro’d 44: [H]e busts ass over [...] to see Carly.

2. (US) to work very hard.

[US]Baker et al. CUSS 92: Bust ass Work (study) hard and concentratedly.
[US]R. Barrett Lovomaniacs (1973) 348: I know he really busted ass and I appreciate it.
[US]J. Langone Life at the Bottom 193: Even the officers got out there and busted ass.
[US]B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 35: Once the cabs were about five feet off the ground, Roy and I ducked inside the rear wheel wells and busted ass.
[US]T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 160: You are the motherfucker who’s busting ass – and hey! who is collecting? I tell you, it’s that fat-ass ex-wife.
[US](con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 128: My mom’s always worked too. She worked hard; she busted ass.
[US]M. Lacher On the Bro’d 10: I was busting ass through the fifth disc of P90X [i.e. a home workout program].

3. (US black) to do well, to succeed.

[US]Current Sl. V:2.
[US]B. Coleman Rakim Told Me 35: We was just intent on bustin’ ass.
bust in the ass

(US) to kick, to harm; lit. and fig. uses.

[US]L. Uris Battle Cry (1964) 24: I’ve been busted in the ass plenty.
get it in the ass (also get it in the arse, get it up the arse/ass)

(orig. US) to be attacked, victimized, killed; also in fig. use.

[US]C. Cooper Jr Weed (1998) 190: Wanda, she was getting it right up the ass.
[US]C. Bukowski Erections, Ejaculations etc. 127: The little guys always get it in the ass [...] That’s history.
[UK]K. Sampson Awaydays 98: All the ordinary people who voted for Thatcher are already starting to get it in the arse.
give up the ass

(US) to accede to seduction.

‘Savage Love’ in Portland Mercury Vo. 3 No. 13 🌐 I have a girlfriend and everything is pretty good. However, she has yet to give up her ass to me. She says that’s for her husband on her wedding night so she can offer him something that no other man has ever had. I told her in order to get me to marry her she must give up the ass first.
[US]G. Hayward Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 11: Even the buck toothed snooty bitches give up the ass on any given Sunday.
[US]Balimore Sun (MD) 17 July E23/1: Like Ice Cube told me, ‘Ain’t nobody givin’ up no ass’.
knock the ass off

(orig. US) to thrash severely, to defeat comprehensively.

[US]E. Bullins ‘Dandy’ in King Black Short Story Anthol. (1972) 80: I’m gonna knock his old rusty ass off.
stack asses

(US) to defeat heavily, to thrash.

[US]D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 252: To get in some licks on defense and let the other side know you’ve come to stack asses.
throw some ass

(US black) of a woman, to walk in an exaggeratedly or deliberately sexy manner.

[US]MC Eiht ‘Can I Get Mine?’ 🎵 on Last Man Standing [album] You know who moves the crowd like a hot A.K. / Money spends, bitches throw ass my way.

In exclamations

hang it in your ass!

(US) an excl. of contempt, often accompanied by a gesture, the right forefinger is hooked over the left thumb, which in turn makes a circle with the left forefinger.

[US]Randolph & Legman Ozark Folksongs and Folklore I 236: Authentic Colorado police ‘Eleven Code,’ for Citizen Band broadcast messages [...] 11-21 Hang it on your ass.
jump up my ass!

(US) a coarse, derisive retort; note extrapolation at cit. 1972.

E. Shrake But Not For Love 106: I say life, you do it to me. You beat the hell out of me. And boy when you’re through you take a long running start and jump up my ass.
[US]D. Jenkins Semi-Tough 238: Anybody who don’t want to wish me luck can jump up an armadillo’s ass.
[US]F. Gwaltney Destiny’s Chickens 45: I’m tempted to tell John Slim to jump up my ass.
[US]S. Koperwas Hot Stuff 242: Jump up my ass, pal. Get wised up already.
[US]L. Brown Joe 40: Well, you can just jump up my ass.
[US]E. Gilbert Stern Men 188: You can jump up my ass.
not on your ass!

no way! on no account!

[US]E. Hoagland Circle Home 57: You thinkin’ I eat steak? [...] Not on your ass. I eat the same as you.
[US]G. Swarthout Skeletons 126: ‘How about 112?’ ‘Not,’ I said, ‘on your adolescent ass.’.
Jay Pigot ‘The Problem Thus Far’ on ‘Kyuss Info’ at Stonerock.com 🌐 Third time lucky? Not on your ass.
suck my ass!/arse! (also take a suck out of my ass!) [suck someone’s ass ]

a general statement of contempt or dismissal.

[US] in T.P. Lowry Stories the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell (1994) 36: [He [...] concludes] ‘tell Fred to suck my ass’.
[US] in T.P. Lowry Stories the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell (1994) 46: [The trial records indicate that Captain Daly did] ‘without any provocation whatsoever, say to Lieutenant Colonel Homer B. Sprague [...] in a loud and abusive tone and manner the indecent and obscene words following, to wit — ‘You suck my arse,’ and ‘you suck my cock’.
[US] ‘Joe Williams’ in G. Logsdon Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing (1995) 185: If you don’t like my little song, you can suck my dirty ass.
[US]R. Abrahams Deep Down In The Jungle 47: Suddenly one of them says, ‘Suck my ass’.
[US]H. Gould Fort Apache, The Bronx 79: Hey, Tony, why don’t you take a suck outta my ass.

In phrases

that’s your ass!

(US) a threat, suggesting the object has gone too far.

[US]S.A. Crosby Razorblade Tears 23: ‘That’s your ass, Jenkins! I’m calling the cops’.
your ass is mine!

a general threat, usu. following a conditional, e.g. if you don’t...your ass is mine.

[US]H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 22: The anatomical ass figures prominently in a variety of expressions, particularly when threats of a personal nature are being made, e.g., your soul is God’s, but your ass is mine, I’ll whip your ass, and your ass is grass and I’m the lawn mower.
[US] ‘The Boy Who Knew Too Much’ The Simpsons [TV script] Your ass is mine, Simpson, your ass is mine. That’s right!
[US]Hellboy [film script] You killed my father, your ass is mine!
your face and my ass!

see under face n.

SE, meaning donkey, in slang uses

In compounds

ass’s gallop (n.)

(Irish) short, used of time or distance, usu. in phr ‘short and sweet, like an ass’s gallop’.

[[UK]Glasgow Gaz. 1 Feb. 2/3: [T]he ass’s gallop, which is proverbially short, has come to an abrupt conclusion].
[Ire]Mayo Constit. 6 July 3/4: His speech, its usual, was short and dirty, like a jack ass’ gallop.
[Scot]Fife Herald 21 Sept. 3/7: It was like an ass’s gallop, short and soon over.
[US]Living Age 29 May 554: Molloy’s, a notable house of refreshment, within an ass’s gallop of the town of Crossgar.
[US]Overland Mthly 59 134/1: Make it short and sweet, then, as an ass’s gallop. The sun'll be down in a jiffy.
[Ire]S. Byrne Design for a Headstone 88: KEVIN: (Studies JAKEY’S face.) You were only out for a week? JAKEY: Short and sweet, like an ass’s gallop.
[UK]Northern Windows 105: ‘Short and sweet like an ass’s gallop’, is a good saying: the hairy-legged Clydesdales recovered the lost ground and passed out of our sight.
[Ire]M. O’Sullivan Brendan Behan 80: He described the brief exhilaration of those minutes on Finglas Road: ‘short and sweet like an ass’s gallop but in those few moments I lived a full life's span’.
[Ire]O’Byrne Files: Dublin Sl. Dict. 🌐 Ass’s gallop n. phr. brief period of time.

In phrases

within an ass’s roar (of) (also within a bull’s roar, within an ass’s bawl, within the bawl of an ass)(Irish)

very near.

[Ire]Kildare Obs. 1 Oct. 5/5: [He] thanked God that the ratepayers; of Maryborough had more sense than to let him within a bawl of an ass of them.
[Ire]Eve. Herald (Dublin) 9 Mar. 7/4: Mullen, the Irish distance champion of that day, not getting within the ‘bawl of an ass’ [...] of the winner.
[Ire]Meath Chron. (Kells) 29 May 3/4: An' it never seems to shtrike the dacint man that he’s tellin’ somethin’ that’s longer than the bawl of an ass from bein’ the thruth.
[Ire]Joyce Ulysses 532: Wouldn’t let them within the bawl of an ass.
Kerryman (Tralee) 26 Dec. 8: You couldn’t get within the ball of an ass of old Mulcahy, there were so many shaking him by the hand.
[Ire]B. Behan ‘The Confirmation Suit’ in After the Wake (1981) 41: The buttons were the size of saucers, or within the bawl of an ass of it.
[UK](con. 1930s) D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 104: Let me at that rotten Ringsend bitch [...] If I can only get within an ass’s bawl of that one, I’ll swing for her!
[Ire]B. Behan Brendan Behan’s Island (1984) 150: The buttons were the size of saucers, or within the bawl of an ass of it.
[Aus]J. Wynnum I’m a Jack, All Right 56: The only tree within a bull’s roar of the track for five miles.
Irish Farmers’ Jrnl 7 July 32/2: We all have our local patriotism and feel that no town could come qwith the bawl of an ass of our own.
[Aus]R. Beckett Dinkum Aussie Dict. 12: Bull’s roar: Insulting expression indicating failure, normally on the sporting field. If something doesn’t come within a bull’s roar of something else, it can be judged to have ‘missed by a mile’.
[Ire]P. O’Keeffe Down Cobbled Streets, A Liberties Childhood 186: The war’ll not get within an ass’s roar of us.
[Ire]O’Byrne Files: Dublin Sl. Dict. 🌐 Ass’s roar (within) n. phr. Close proximity.
[NZ]McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 37: bull’s roar Not even close, in regard to the desired distance or objective.