arsen.int.

Brit.

/ɑːs/, U.S.

/ɑrs/

Forms: early Old English (Mercian) Middle English–1500s ers, Old English ærs, Old English (1900s English regional) ears, Middle English aars, Middle English eeres, Middle English eres, Middle English ersse, Middle English erys, Middle English hars, Middle English hers, Middle English herse, Middle English nes (in compounds, see note), Middle English–1500s (1800s English regional (Somerset)) erse, Middle English–1600s arce, Middle English–1600s ars, Middle English– arse, 1500s–1600s arsse; Scottish pre-1700 aers, pre-1700 ars, pre-1700 ersse, pre-1700 1700s– arse, pre-1700 1800s– erse, pre-1700 2000s– ers, 1900s– airse; also Irish English 1900s– erse. See also ass n.²

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian ers (West Frisian ears), Middle Dutch aers, ērs, eers (Dutch aars, also (with metanalysis; now rare) naars, (regional) eers), Old Saxon ars (Middle Low German ars, ērs), Old High German ars (Middle High German ars, German Arsch), Old Icelandic ars, also (with metathesis) rass (Icelandic rass), Old Swedish ars, ardz (Swedish (now regional) ars), Old Danish arz (Danish (now regional) ars, arts) < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ὄρρος (originally ὄρσος, attested in compounds).Specific forms. In Old English regular voicing of s when followed by a vowel in oblique cases would have created a homorganic consonant group before which lengthening could occur. Some Middle English forms in e reflect this, e.g. eeres, eres (the form ers is ambiguous with regard to vowel length, but may be presumed to reflect a long vowel in some instances; in Older Scots it reflects a short vowel). Somewhat later sporadic lengthening of a is perhaps shown by the Middle English form aars; apparently confirmed by Bullokar's rhyming of arse with dares , fares , scarce in the late 16th cent. (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) I. 431–2). The form nes (see quot. ?a1500 for arse-tharm n. at Compounds) shows metanalysis and apparent assimilatory loss of r (see N n., and compare ass n.²). The forms hars, hers, herse show prothetic h (see H n.). The word is sometimes (from the 17th cent. onwards) written with asterisks, dashes, etc., representing suppressed letters, so as to avoid the charge of obscenity. Use in place names. Attested early as an element in boundary markers in Anglo-Saxon charter bounds and in place names, probably denoting a rounded hill or hillock; compare: oxan ers, Pershore, Worcestershire (late 10th cent.), beafolces ears, Taynton, Oxfordshire (1059), Lanchers, Devon (1086; now Landcross), to Ersegrafan, Wiltshire (13th cent. in a copy of a charter of 955; now Ashgrove), Trollesers (field name), Lockton, North Riding, Yorkshire (1335), etc.

Now slang.Generally regarded as coarse after the 18th cent., and more vulgar than (e.g.) bum, backside.The form arse is now rare in North America, where ass n.² (originally a variant of this word) is the usual form.

A. n.

a. A person's buttocks; the bottom, the backside. Also: the anus; the rectum. Also occasionally: an animal's rump, anus, or rectum. N.E.D. (1885) interpreted quot. a1425 as showing sense A. 2, perhaps influenced by the variants in the original French, but it seems more likely to belong here; compare Chaucer's Summoner's Prologue (III ((D)) ll. 1675–1703).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > rump

arseeOE

croupc1300

crouponc1400

rumpc1425

rumplec1430

narsea1500

podex1601

poop1611

rump enda1658

breech1710

cushion1710

postabdomen1824

stern1830

bottle1935

dinger1943

ding1957

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 189 Ani, þæs earses.

a1350 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 133 In prude vch a screwe wol hire shrude þah he nabbe nout a smok hire foule ers to hude.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 171 (MED) He gadred..towaylls of þe auter and defouled hem wiþ the filþe of his ers [L. ani sui]..and anon his mouþ bycom his ers.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7576 Thou shalt for this synne dwelle Right in the deuels ers of helle [Fr. cul d'enfer, v.r. puis d'enfer].

?a1425 (a1400) Brut (Corpus Cambr.) 297 Þey lete hange fox tailes..forto hele and heyde hire ars.

a1450 (?1409) St. Patrick's Purgatory (Royal) 70 I saw the fendes turnyng here arses toward þe sowles.

a1475 Bk. Hawking in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 301 (MED) For the stone. Anoynt the hawke is erys with oyle of olyve and put in powdere of alym with an holow strawe.

1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. xviii The 25. Capytle doth shewe of a mannes ars.

a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. G2^v You shall lie while your arce ake.

1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. iii. 236 Then mounted both upon their Horses, But with their faces to the Arses.

1691 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 369 Dr. Mander of Ball. Coll. said ‘it was not..fit to wipe one's arse with’.

1736 S. Carolina Gaz. 20 Nov. 4/2 A young black Roan Horse,..white Arse, Switch Tail.

1786 R. Burns Twa Dogs ii. in Poems 11 Till tir'd at last wi' mony a farce, They set them down upon their arse.

1818 Ld. Byron Let. 27 Jan. (1976) VI. 98 In the overturn of a coach the odds are that your arse will be first out of the window.

1826 Lancet 15 July 502/2 Ere he let his fury pass, To show them all his cool contempt, At sitting down he smacked his ——.

1865 ‘Philocomus’ Love Feast vi. 38 Carrie, his delight, Whose arse for plumpness would agree with famed Venus' callipygee.

1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xv. 268 Tha's got a proper, woman's arse, proud of itself.

1968 A. Fulton Dark Side of Mercy 7 After a few weeks in this country your arse will be as tough as raw hide.

2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 79 Some leave with a mumbled word of gratitude,..and some with a cuff round the head or a boot up the arse.

b. The bottom or rear of an object.When denoting the bottom of a block in nautical contexts, possibly used with allusion to the groove or cleft through which the rope runs: see quots. 1721, 1813, 1908.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [noun] > back part or rear

hinder enda1382

back-half1408

backside1417

arse1510

rear1609

postern1611

back-enda1617

arreara1627

back1626

averse1655

posteriorsa1657

ass1700

tail-end1747

rear end1785

west side1829

arse-end1837

hindside1862

ass-end1934

1510 A. Chertsey tr. Floure Commaundementes of God (de Worde) ii. c. f. ccxv/2 The good man in y^e arse of his carte.

?a1556 Grey Friars Chron. anno 1551 in R. Howlett Monumenta Franciscana (1882) II. 235 Whyppyd..at the carttes arse..for vacobondes.

1594 T. Stocker tr. G. Du Vair Holy Loue Heauenly Wisdome 410 They led me into the bottome of the arse of a ditch.

?1659 Vindic. Rump (single sheet) Whipt at the Arse of a Cart.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. vii. 289/2 The Distaff Shank or Arse, is set in a hole of the over cross piece.

1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (at cited word) Among Sailors..the Arse of a Block or Pulley, through which any Rope runs, is the lower end of it.

1742 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Aug. v. 11 [Lay the sheaves] in a sloping Posture, close together with their Arses outward.

1813 ‘T. Martin’ Circle Mech. Arts 70/2 The splice laying in the arse of the block.

1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorks. Folk-talk 269 T' shaff arses is as wet as sump.

1908 Man. Seamanship (1915) I. iii. 124 The standing part of the fall of this tackle is spliced into the strop at the arse of the single block.

1931 E. Raymond Mary Leith I. vi. 81 They wouldn't know the front of a railway train from its arse.

1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 30 July They'll probably go to the garbo in the arse of the ship.

2008 Gold Coast (Austral.) Bull. (Nexis) 24 Mar. They sit up the arse of the car in front of them.

c. The part of a pair of trousers which covers the buttocks; the seat of the trousers. Also occasionally with reference to other garments.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > parts of > seat

doup1819

seat1834

slack1848

arse?1859

ass1888

bum1949

?1859 J. Riley Prophecies Explained 98 The sage pouring out his wisdom from the functions in the arse of his trowsers.

1938 R. Davies Jubilee Blues iv. 129 A new race with the arse out of their trousers and shirts.

1976 Mag. Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Mar. 12/2 They're like as not to have the arse out of your breeks.

2002 C. Adams Turquoise Days 1 I was too young and awkward to ‘split’ anything except the arse of my beige corduroys.

2. The remotest or least attractive part of a specified region. Cf. arse-end n. 3, arsehole n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > distance > distance or farness > [noun] > distant parts > the remotest part or place

utmostc825

world-endOE

world's endc1275

utteresta1300

utmostsa1382

uttermost1382

uttermosta1390

arsea1600

apogee1670

jumping-off place1826

Timbuctoo1863

arse-end1896

ass-end1960

a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 338 Considerand that it [sc. Scotland] was bot the erse of the warld be wther contries.

1622 T. Dekker & P. Massinger Virgin Martir ii. sig. E4^v The arse, as it were, or fag end of the world.

1660 A. Brome Bumm-foder (single sheet) Now we are got into the arse of the world.

1952 P. W. Miller in Sc. National Dict. III. 243/2 ‘Deed, I come fae 'e erse o' 'e country’..related to me by the Free Church minister of Latheron as an instance of the ordinary and innocent use of the word at that time—say 1870—by a respectable Christian woman.

1980 D. Storey Early Days ii, in Early Days; Sisters; Life Class 37 In the arse of the world I deployed my talents.

2011 R. Tamošaitis in M. Kvietkauskas Transitions of Lithuanian Postmodernism 146 The hopeless state of the Lithuanian nation as life in ‘the Arse of the Universe’.

3. A stupid, unpleasant, or contemptible person; a fool.The isolated early use in quot. c1785 is a form deleted in the original manuscript, recorded by the editor.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun]

dizzyc825

cang?c1225

foolc1225

apec1330

mopc1330

saddle-goosec1346

mis-feelinga1382

foltc1390

mopec1390

fona1400

buffardc1430

fopc1440

joppec1440

fonda1450

fondlinga1450

insipienta1513

plume of feathers1530

bobolynec1540

dizzard1546

Little Witham?1548

nodc1563

dawkin1565

cocknel1566

nigion1570

niddicock1577

nodcock1577

cuckoo1581

Jack with the feather1581

niddipol1582

noddyship?1589

stirkc1590

fonkin1591

Gibraltar1593

fopper1598

noddypeak1598

coxcombry1600

simple1600

gowka1605

nup1607

fooliaminy1608

silly ass1608

dosser-head1612

dor1616

glow-worm1624

liripipea1625

doodle1629

sop1637

spalt1639

fool's head1650

buffle1655

Jack Adams1656

bufflehead1659

nincompoopc1668

bavian1678

nokes1679

foolanea1681

cod1699

hulver-head1699

nigmenog1699

single ten1699

mud1703

dowf1722

foolatum1740

silly billy1749

tommy noddy1774

arsec1785

nincom1800

silly1807

slob1810

omadhaun1818

potwalloper1820

mosy1824

amadan1825

gump1825

gype1825

oonchook1825

prawn1845

suck-egg1851

goosey1852

nowmun1854

pelican1856

poppy-show1860

buggerlugs1861

damfool1881

mudhead1882

yob1886

peanut head1891

haggis bag1892

poop1893

gazob1906

mush1906

wump1908

zob1911

gorm1912

goof1916

goofus1916

gubbins1916

dumb cluck1922

twat1922

B.F.1925

goofer1925

bird brain1926

berk1929

Berkeley1929

Berkeley Hunt1929

ding1929

loogan1929

stupido1929

poop-stick1930

nelly1931

droop1932

diddy1933

slappy1937

goof ball1938

get1940

poon1940

tonk1941

clot1942

yuck1943

possum1945

gobdaw1947

momo1953

nig-nog1953

plonker1955

weenie1956

nong-nong1959

Berkshire Hunt1960

balloon1965

doofus1965

dork1965

nana1965

shit-for-brains1966

schmoll1967

tosspot1967

lunchbox1969

doof1971

tonto1973

dorkus1979

motorhead1979

mouth-breather1979

wally1980

wally brain1981

der-brain1983

langer1983

numpty1985

sotong1988

fanny1995

fannybaws2000

c1785 W. Blake Island in Moon (1987) 32 If I have not presented you with every character in the piece, call me..Arse [corrected to ‘ass’].

1943 M. Harris Vegetative Eye iii. 80 You silly arse, Fanny.

1986 C. Phillips State of Independence 139 A couple of stupid arses on motor bikes.

2010 G. Philpott Spanish Hotel i. 3 He phoned me at work yesterday and apologised for being such an arse.

4. With possessive adjective or genitive. Cf. ass n.² 3.

a. Oneself, one's person or body.Typically used to impart greater force or vehemence to a statement than the use of a pronoun would convey.Recorded earliest in the phrase to bother one's arse (see bother v. and int. Phrases 1b).

ΚΠ

1949 T. Skelton Clay under Clover xxvii. 137 Why bother your arse with that? Aren't we all 'uman bein's?

1969 Hudson Rev. 22 131 The implication..[was] that everyone..was fatuous and irrelevant because he wasn't dying in the Congo, dragging his arse through the paddy-field or demonstrating in Trafalgar Square.

1995 N. Blincoe Acid Casuals ix. 59 ‘Junk, get your arse down here.’ Burgess turned on his heels and strode down the corridor.

2014 B. Conaghan When Mr Dog Bites (2015) xiv. 122 If students didn't bother their arses attending from day to day, the schools didn't give two flying fishes.

b. One's life, safety, or reputation.Typically used in various phrases as a more forceful or vehement alternative to neck, skin, etc.; cf. neck n.¹ Phrases 2a, skin n. Phrases 1c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > as possession

headOE

lifeOE

heart-blood?c1225

innocent blood1382

heart's-blood1562

fanny1936

ass1948

butt1964

arse1970

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > [noun] > one's reputation

manhooda1425

reputationc1550

repper1910

fanny1936

ass1948

butt1964

arse1970

1970 A. Wiseman in M. Richler Canad. Writing Today 244 What if Hymie had risked his arse without finding out, any more than that?

1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 4 May He'll know his arse is on the line if he interferes.

2011 Guardian (Nexis) 1 Jan. 21 Make sure that when the banks fuck up, they're the ones that lose their arses, not us.

5. Originally and chiefly British. Nonsense, rubbish.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun]

magged talea1387

moonshine1468

trumperyc1485

foolishness1531

trash1542

baggage1545

flim-flam1570

gear1570

rubbisha1576

fiddle-faddle1577

stuff1579

fible-fable1581

balductum1593

pill1608

nonsense1612

skimble-skamble1619

porridge1642

mataeology1656

fiddle-come-faddle1663

apple sauce1672

balderdash1674

flummery1749

slang1762

all my eye1763

diddle-daddle1778

(all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781

twaddle1782

blancmange1790

fudge1791

twiddle-twaddle1798

bothering1803

fee-faw-fum1811

slip-slop1811

nash-gab1816

flitter-tripe1822

effutiation1823

bladderdash1826

ráiméis1828

fiddlededee1843

pickles1846

rot1846

kelter1847

bosh1850

flummadiddle1850

poppycock1852

Barnum1856

fribble-frabble1859

kibosh1860

skittle1864

cod1866

Collyweston1867

punk1869

slush1869

stupidness1873

bilge-water1878

flapdoodle1878

tommyrot1880

ruck1882

piffle1884

flamdoodle1888

razzmatazz1888

balls1889

pop1890

narrischkeit1892

tosh1892

footle1894

tripe1895

crap1898

bunk1900

junk1906

quatsch1907

bilge1908

B.S.1912

bellywash1913

jazz1913

wash1913

bullshit?1915

kid-stakes1916

hokum1917

bollock1919

bullsh1919

bushwa1920

noise1920

bish-bosh1922

malarkey1923

posh1923

hooey1924

shit1924

heifer dust1927

madam1927

baloney1928

horse feathers1928

phonus-bolonus1929

rhubarb1929

spinach1929

toffeea1930

tomtit1930

hockey1931

phoney baloney1933

moody1934

cockalorum1936

cock1937

mess1937

waffle1937

berley1941

bull dust1943

crud1943

globaloney1943

hubba-hubba1944

pish1944

phooey1946

asswipe1947

chickenshit1947

slag1948

batshit1950

goop1950

slop1952

cack1954

doo-doo1954

cobbler1955

horse shit1955

nyamps1955

pony1956

horse manure1957

waffling1958

bird shit1959

codswallop1959

how's your father1959

dog shit1963

cods1965

shmegegge1968

pucky1970

taradiddle1970

mouthwash1971

wank1974

gobshite1977

mince1985

toss1990

arse1993

1993 Re: Absolutely Fabulous was Re: Reeves & Mortimer: vindicated at last! in rec.arts.tv.uk (Usenet newsgroup) 15 Dec. I think James that you are talking arse there.

2011 Sc. Star (Nexis) 28 Oct. 19 That story was a complete load of arse.

B. int.

slang (originally and chiefly British and Irish English). Expressing frustration, regret, or annoyance: ‘oh no!’, ‘damn!’.

ΚΠ

1994 Re: Absolutely in alt.comedy.british (Usenet newsgroup) 2 May I missed it? Oh arse!

2001 Games Master Mar. 103/4 (caption) Arse! My iron undercrackers have rusted up again.

2016 M. Atherton Shot from Shadows lvii. 263 He heard himself groan, ‘oh arse’.

Phrases

P1. In various expressions with the sense ‘head over heels; in confusion’, as arse over head, arse over tip, arse over tit, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [phrase] > head over heels

tail over top1303

top over tailc1330

heels over headc1400

tail and top1558

head over heels1678

over head and heels1678

heels over gowdy1751

head over tip1824

arse over tip1922

ass over tea-kettle1963

c1400 Life St. Anne (Minn.) (1928) l. 2721 (MED) Þe childer..played þer with þam at þe bawll; Þai welterd all ars ouer hede.

1565 W. Stewart tr. Breif Gathering Halie Signes f. 14 Quhairfore..haif ze mixit arse ouer head, oillis in the halie Sacrament of Baptisme?

1595 A. Munday tr. First Bk. Primaleon ix. 69 The Marques went arse ouer head, ouer his horse head to kisse the ground.

1672 M. Atkins Cataplus 51 Others by active fancy led Were at turning arse over head.

1710 E. Ward Life Don Quixote ii. viii. 148 Down he came, Arse over Head.

1834 J. B. Ker Ess. Archaiol. Pop. Eng. Phrases & Nursery Rhymes 105 Arse over head, as in the expression, ‘he fell arse over head.’

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 445 Arse over tip. Hundred shillings to five.

1968 A. Diment Great Spy Race x. 184 I scrambled down a sharp bank..almost going arse over tit when my foot caught in a branch.

1972 Observer 24 Sept. 37/3 An alternative system which..turns Marx arse over tip.

1991 J. Kelman Burn (1992) 240 He walked as fast as he could..without slipping..arse over elbow into the burn.

2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 228 There was something backwards about it, arse over tit as Riley would have said.

P2. to hang an (also the) arse: to hold back; to be reluctant or dilatory. rare after 18th cent.In quot. 1999 in historical context.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > be or become slow [verb (intransitive)] > be dilatory

slowOE

tarrya1375

linger1548

procrastinate1548

slackc1560

forslow1571

to hang back1581

to hang an (also the) arse1596

to hang fire1782

to be slow off the mark1972

1596 J. Harington New Disc. Aiax sig. E8^v (margin) Some of our rude countrimen English this obtorto collo, hanging an arse.

a1640 P. Massinger Guardian v. iv. 94 in 3 New Playes (1655) Nay, No hanging an arse.

1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 35 Could he stir To active trot one side of's Horse, The other would not hang an-Arse.

1710 J. Ozell tr. A. Tassoni Secchia Rapita i. 22 See how that Bitch There, hangs an arse, afraid to leap a Ditch!

1762 T. Bridges Homer Travestie I. ii. 138 Who fight, as if inspir'd by Mars, Or who, like Dutchmen, hang an a—se.

1834 J. B. Ker Ess. Archaiol. Pop. Eng. Phrases & Nursery Rhymes 66 To hang an arse, in the sense of, to remain behind, to give up first (before the rest).

1935 W. G. Smith Oxf. Dict. Eng. Prov. 517 To hang the groin (a leg, an arse), to hesitate or hold back.

1999 A. Mallinson Close Run Thing (2000) i. 35 Slade tries to curb all vigour in his subordinates, and hangs the arse at any price.

P3. arse upwards.

a. In good luck. Chiefly in to rise with one's arse upwards: to be lucky. rare after 18th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > in prosperous condition [phrase] > fortunately > in or with good luck

arse upwardsc1600

in luck1752

on the tinny luck1918

quids in1919

c1600 Timon (1980) i. v. 19 This man this daye rose with his Arse upwards To daye a fidler and at night a Noble.

1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 80 He rose with his A—— upwards. A sign of good luck.

1709 E. Ward Secret Hist. Clubs xxii. 244 I'd rise Arse upwards e'ery Day by-times.

1738 J. Swift Treat. Polite Conversat. iii. 88 She had good Luck to draw Tom Plump into Wedlock; she rises with her —— upwards.

1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 18/1 Arse upwards, in good luck; luckily.

b. Originally and chiefly British regional. Upside down, topsy-turvy; back to front. Cf. arsewards adv.

ΚΠ

1896 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 75/1 [Northumberland] Arse-upwards, upside down... [Suffolk] ‘Arse-uppards’ is a usual term for many things lying bottom up.

1960 A. O. D. Claxton Suffolk Dial. 20th Cent. (ed. 2) (at cited word) To unlock a door with the keyhole in the reverse position one would have to put the key in ‘arse uppards’.

1970 Guardian 25 Mar. 11/6 Because Mother is read by many straitlaced and quite unpermissive ladies, the supplements [on sexual topics] are being inserted ‘arse upwards’.

2016 Observer (Nexis) 17 July (Film section) You start with a release date... Then they start on a script... To get around this..arse-upwards approach, Greengrass and Rouse wrote the script before filming started.

P4. Phrases expressing contemptuous rejection, dismissal, or hostility, often as a retort.

a. slang (chiefly British and Irish English). my arse!: expressing dismissive or incredulous contradiction, esp. as a scornful rejection of another's stated opinions; ‘nonsense!’, ‘like hell!’, ‘you must be joking!’. Usually following a full or partial restatement of what is being dismissed or rejected. Cf. my ass at ass n.² Phrases 1c, my foot! at foot n. and int. Phrases 9b, my eye at eye n.¹ Phrases 4n(b).In quots. 1602 and 1710 it is explicitly asserted that the speaker's buttocks are equal value or quality to the matter under discussion.

ΚΠ

1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. vii. sig. I2 Crisp. They say, he's valiant. Tvcca. Valiant? so is mine Arse.

1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 3 Nov. (2013) 56 They..promise me letters to the two archbishops here; but mine a— for it all.]

1734 ‘C. Johnson’ Gen. Hist. Lives Highwaymen 62/2 Says Nehemiah, Quæso, Domine, dare mihi aliquid [i.e. ‘I beg you, master, to give me something’]: Quæso, quæso, my Arse, answer'd the Footman.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. v. 227 ‘You frighten the young Lady so, that you deprive her of all Power of Utterance.’ ‘Power of mine A—,’ answered the Squire.

1933 M. Lowry Ultramarine vi. 236 ‘Got icebreakers on them.’ ‘Icebreakers my arse.’

1999 C. Aherne et al. Royle Family Scripts: Ser. 2 (2000) Episode 7. 160 Barbara. Let's all have a snowball! Don't snowballs make your feel Christmassy, ey? Jim. Snowballs my arse.

2015 A. Sparrow Harvesters x. 103 It's a load of old horseshit anyway, crashed alien spaceships my arse!

b. to stick (also shove, etc.) (something) up your (also his, her) arse and variants. Frequently in stick (also shove, etc.) it up your arse.

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1735 in P. Earle Sailors (1998) vi. 74 [He] told me I might stick the logg board in my arse etc.

1863 G. W. Gribbin in Proc. Court Martial (U.S. National Arch. RG 153, GCMO no. 128, File no. NN-0902) 6 Nov. If the Officers want to take my pay, they may take it and be God damned, and shove it up their arses if they like it.

?1927–8 J. Fliesler Anecdota Americana 85 Take this steak right back to the chef and tell him to stick it up his arse.

1965 P. Arrowsmith Jericho (1983) iv. 39 You know what you can do with that man—stuff it up your bloody arse.

1986 D. Potter Singing Detective ii. 54 Dr Gibbon : I will read you a passage. If I may. Marlow : (Evenly ) I'd rather you shoved it up your arse.

2005 N. Hornby Long Way Down 34 Stick your smile up your saggy old arse.

c. With verb omitted, in up your arse. Cf. up yours at up prep.² 3b.

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1971 New Statesman 7 May 645/2 Fellini ambles around,..yelling, ‘Up your arse!’ to Capucine and subsequently apologising.

1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines i. 34 I always knew it: typical fenian marxist fucking glory seeker. Up your arse.

2006 M. O'Farrell Vanishing Act Esme Lennox 104 As George is saying this Alex mutters, up your arse, and Iris has to swallow hard so as not to laugh.

P5. slang (originally and chiefly British and Irish English).

a. to —— one's arse off: to —— intensely, vigorously, or to excess. Frequently in to work one's arse off: to work extremely hard. Cf. ass n.² Phrases 7, to —— one's tits off at tit n.¹ Phrases 2b.With quot. 1923, cf. tear-arse n. at tear- comb. form 2.

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1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 54 To tear one's arse off, s'échiner à travailler.

1981 F. Laker in Forbes (Nexis) 3 Aug. 34 If I don't work my arse off all the time, the dividend drops, the value of the shares goes down and that puts mine down.

1992 P. McCabe Butcher Boy (1993) 138 I went away laughing my arse off.

1994 Face Sept. 157/2 90 per cent of clubbers go to clubs to cop off, dance their arses off and get out of their head.

2016 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 21 Feb. 9 I work my arse off, I didn't have what they had as kids.

b. to —— the arse off someone: to —— someone vigorously, intensely, or to an extreme degree. Originally and frequently with reference to sexual intercourse. Cf. to —— the tits off (someone or something) at tit n.¹ Phrases 2a.

ΚΠ

1968 G. M. Williams From Scenes like These vi. 130 For a while it had been enough just to know he was banging the arse off a toff's daughter.

1971 F. Forsyth Day of Jackal xx. 336 We're looking for a fellow who screwed the arse off a Baroness..not a couple of raving nances.

1989 M. Darke First of Midnight (BNC) 67 It's enough to freeze the arse off a cat.

1994 Guardian 30 Mar. ii. 8/4 It would bore the arse off anybody, it's real anorak stuff.

2010 R. Doyle in New Yorker May 65/2 She rode the arse off me.

P6. slang (originally and chiefly British). arse about face. Cf. arsy-versy adv. and adj., ass-backwards adv. and adj.

a. As adjectival phrase: contrary to what is usual, expected, or logical; confused, muddled, perverse.

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1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 54 Arse about face, c'en d'vant derrière.

1946 R. Grinstead They dug Hole ii. i. 70 That's the army all over, arse about face.

1993 Times 30 July 33/2 When the album came out, most people had spent more time reading about us than listening to us, which is the most arse-about-face thing I can think of.

2001 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 9 Mar. 28 Most people think technology, then processes, then people. That's arse about face. People is where it starts and stops.

b. As adverbial phrase: in a manner contrary to what is usual, expected, or logical; backwards, back to front, the wrong way round.

ΚΠ

1972 Guardian 23 Mar. 12/2 A director trying to have it both ways and ending up arse about face.

1990 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 24 Aug. He gripped the club ‘arse about face’—his right hand was above the left and he played right-handed.

2014 Bush Tel. (Queensland, Austral.) (Nexis) 15 July 19 We probably did things a bit arse-about-face, getting the cattle before the fencing.

P7. not to know one's arse from one's elbow: to be very stupid or ignorant. Also not to know one's arse from a hole in the ground and other variants.Earlier currency is suggested by the euphemistic variant in quot. 1930.

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1930 R. Blaker Medal without Bar xiii. 69 Nor 'an 'un of us knows 'is ears from 'is elbow when it comes to learning—learning like you orficers have got up your sleeves.]

1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral iv. 75 I wish I'd had a crowd like that for my first crew. We none of us knew arse from elbow when they pushed me off.

1968 W. Barker Brain Storms xxxvii. 147 You really don't know your arse from a hole in the ground.

1994 E. McNamee Resurrection Man (1998) v. 40 This Kelly character doesn't know his arse from a hole in his trousers.

2008 S. Toltz Fraction of Whole iv. 413 It confuses you so you don't know your arse from your elbow.

P8. Scottish slang. arse for elbow: (in a manner) contrary to what is usual, expected, or logical; back to front, the wrong way round.

ΚΠ

1953 J. Barke Crest of Broken Wave i. 54 Oh, damn fine I ken how things are a' arse for elbow in this world.

2000 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 3 May 17 ‘Is that an engagement ring?’ ‘No,’ says the other, ‘it's an eternity ring. We're doing everything erse for elbow.’

2016 @acers9 11 May in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Your ups is down and your downs are up. Your lefts are rights. Basically everything is arse for elbow.

P9.

a. to get (up) off one's arse: to get going; to begin a course of action; to stop procrastinating or being lazy. Cf. to get off one's backside at backside n., adj., and adv. Phrases 3.

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1960 B. Ash Someone had Blundered viii. 114 ‘Get your lazy self up off your arse and fill it your bloody self,’ said Slinger; and threw the basin back at him.

1970 Illustr. London News 25 Apr. 41/2 They all wanted things done but none of them were prepared to get off their fat arses.

1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes v. 133 Tell your father to get off his northern arse and get a job like the decent men of Limerick.

2015 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 21 June Everyone is getting fatter, everyone's getting diabetes..because no-one will get up off their arse and go for a run.

b. to move (also shift) (one's) arse and variants: to get going, get a move on; to move swiftly, hurry up; to leave; (also) to get out of the way. Frequently in imperative.The word obscured by dashes in the text of quot. 1958 is likely to be arse, to rhyme with the words ‘enchanting farce’; compare quot. 1974.

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1958 J. Lerner My Fair Lady i. vii. 83 Come on Dover!!! Move your bloomin' –—!!!]

1973 Spectrum 15 36 Shift arse old man, stop holding up the bus.

1974 Beverley (W. Austral.) Times 17 Oct. 5/3 (advt.) Be like Eliza Doolittle's horse... ‘Move your bloomin' arse!’

1993 L. Davies Work, Sex & Rugby 88 By the time..[the solicitor] shifts his arse and writes a letter, that's a hundred quid.

1997 B. Breytenbach December in D. Hirson Lava of this Land 56 Jump to it! Clean up! Move arse!

2010 C. Reid Secrets at St. Jude's: Drama Girl 166 That will be my..dad now, wondering why I'm not shifting my arse fetching and carrying drinks.

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c. to get one's arse in gear: see gear n. Additions.

P10. out on one's arse: ejected or dismissed from a job, post, etc. Cf. out on one's ear at ear n.¹ Phrases 1l.

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1965 G. Skelton & A. Mitchell tr. P. Weiss Persecution & Assassination J.-P. Marat 13 Down with all the ruling class Throw all the generals out on their arse.

1984 Guardian 19 May 7/8 You could go to the toilet whenever you wanted to—and have a cigarette if you wanted one. If you'd done that in the mill, you'd have been out on your arse.

1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) xii. 320 Where am I then, missus? Out on my arse jobless and a mother to support that's ninety-two.

2010 Times (Nexis) 7 Sept. Look, I might get it wrong. I'll be judged on results, and if I don't get them, then I'll be out on my arse.

P11. slang (originally and chiefly British).

a. to disappear (also go, vanish, etc.) up one's own arse: to become self-involved, pretentious, or conceited, typically to a degree which is abnormal or harmful.

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1966 P. Marshall Excluded from Cemetery ii. iii. 181 You see, logic cannot stand the application of logic. Under such an application, logic will disappear up its own arse.

1978 Sounds 11 Feb. 16/1 The self-serious artistic and socio-political statements of the Woodstock Generation? Oh dear. They vanished up their own arses, alright.

1998 Touch July 109/1 It's the kind of place that manages to revel in a bit of pretentious comfort without going too far up its own arse.

2008 New Musical Express (Nexis) 31 May Oasis have disappeared up their own arse. They think they are Led Zeppelin.

b. to be up one's own arse and variants: to be self-involved, pretentious, or conceited.

ΚΠ

1988 Marketing 8 Sept. 9 A friend of mine, who didn't like them, described them as ‘stuck up their own arse’.

1997 G. Williams Diamond Geezers xxviii. 170 Sanctimonious cowards, too up their own arses to feel pity for their victims.

2012 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 23 Sept. You become more interested in the world and not so up your own arse.

P12.

a. to make an arse of (someone): to cause (someone) to appear absurd or foolish. Cf. to make an ass of (someone) at ass n.¹ Phrases 2a.

ΚΠ

1967 Observer 23 Apr. 22/5 To go along the wing bouncing the ball on the instep, making an arse of anybody who comes in to tackle.

1997 Sunday Times (Nexis) 10 Aug. They've made an arse of my mother, my brother, everything.

2015 Sunday Star-Times (Auckland) (Nexis) 30 Aug. 5 The victory..made an arse of the Greens.

b. to make an arse of oneself: to behave in a way which makes one appear absurd or foolish. Cf. to make an ass of oneself at ass n.¹ Phrases 2b.

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1968 G. Spunt Place in Time xxv. 195 I don't want you on that dance floor, making an arse of yourself, you understand?

1985 Colorado Springs (Colorado) Gaz. Tel. 15 Jan. a8/5 Our solitary study of where..the line is drawn between good sportsmanship and making an arse of oneself.

2010 L. Heidke Claudia's Big Break (2011) iii. 30 I usually made an arse of myself when it came to men.

c. Scottish. to make an arse of (something): to mess (something) up; to botch, bungle, or ruin (something). Cf. to arse up at arse v. 2.

ΚΠ

1974 Oral Hist. 2 i. 48 They had made an arse of Fairfield. The Party had made a cock-up of Fairfields.

1991 Conjunctions 17 83 Needed to be sure about these things..before you opened your mouth else just make an arse of the whole jingbang just fuck it up totally.

2013 C. Robertson Witness Dead xlvii. 389 We have to trust Winter not to make an arse of this.

P13. to die on one's arse: to fail badly; to suffer an irreversible decline, come to a sudden or premature end. Originally and frequently with reference to stand-up comedians or other entertainers, and the failure of a live performance; cf. to die on one's feet at foot n. and int. Phrases 2d(b).

ΚΠ

1984 T. Francis in K. Kirk Men in Frocks 110/1 Some of the songs go down as well as they did two years ago and so l'm a bit scared to get rid of them—good numbers are hard to find, and l haven't died on my arse yet.

1999 Guardian 6 May (G2 section) 13/1 Homer never had to die on his arse on an open-mike night.

2015 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 15 Aug. (Sport section) 77 Dark clouds are forming..because hurling is dying on its arse.

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P14. ask my arse: see ask v. Phrases 11. to get one's head out of one's arse: see head n.¹ Phrases 6g(b). to have one's head up one's arse: see head n.¹ Phrases 6g(a). with one's finger up one's arse: see finger n. Phrases 4c(b). a kick up the arse: see kick n.¹ Additions. to kiss (a person's) arse: see kiss v. 6l. not to give a rat's arse: see rat n.¹ Phrases 10. to think the sun shines out of a person's arse: see sun n.¹ Phrases 2b(c)(ii). to take it up the arse: see take v. Phrases 1m. to talk out of one's arse: see talk v. Additions. tits and arse: see tit n.¹ Phrases 3a.

Compounds

arse bandit n. slang (originally British) (derogatory and offensive) a homosexual man; cf. ass-bandit n. at ass n.² Compounds, bum bandit n. at bum n.¹ and int.² Compounds 2.

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the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male

badlingeOE

nan1670

molly1708

Miss Molly1754

Miss Nancy1824

molly mop1829

poof1833

Margery?c1855

Mary Ann1868

pretty-boy1881

cocksucker1885

poofter1889

queer1894

fruit1895

fairy1896

homosexualist1898

puff1902

pussy1904

nance1910

quean1910

girl1912

faggot1913

mouser1914

queen1919

fag1921

gay boy1921

maricon1921

pie-face1922

bitch1923

Jessie1923

tapette1923

pansy1926

nancy boy1927

nelly1931

femme1932

ponce1932

punk1933

queerie1933

gobbler1934

jocker1935

queenie1935

iron1936

freak1941

swish1941

flit1942

tonk1943

wonk1945

mother1947

fruitcake1952

Mary1953

twink1953

swishy1959

limp wrist1960

arse bandit1961

leather man1961

booty bandit1962

ginger beer1964

bummer1965

poofteroo1966

shirtlifter1966

battyman1967

dick-sucker1968

mo1968

a friend of Dorothy1972

shim1973

gaylord1976

twinkie1977

woofter1977

bender1986

knob jockey1989

batty boy1992

cake boy1992

1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 983 Arse bandit, synonym for arse king [sc. a notorious sodomite].

1977 Guardian 31 Aug. 8/5 The indignant remonstrance of a messmate that he was an arse-bandit.

2001 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 15 Mar. t4 I don't have a problem with homosexuals, one of my best friends is an arse bandit.

arse-board n. regional (now rare) the tailboard of a cart; (also) a board on which a person sits.

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1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Arse-burd of a cart, the board which goes behind and shuts it in.

1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang I. 48/1 Arse-board, the hinder part of a cart.

1936 B. Ronald Dyson Gloss. Old Sheffield Trade Words & Dial. Arseboard, a board slung from behind the grinder to serve as a seat.

1969 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. i. 133 Tailboard,..[Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire] arse-board.

arse cheek n. a buttock; (in plural) the buttocks; cf. ass cheek n. at ass n.² Compounds.

ΚΠ

1865 ‘Philocomus’ Love Feast i. 9 He sucked my nipples, bit my breast, My belly rubbed, my arse-cheeks pressed.

1968 S. Yurick Bag viii. 290 Cybele, black Cybele, with her chocolate doughnut belly and her arsecheek jelly.

2012 Independent (Nexis) 6 Dec. 46 When you can no longer suppress the urge to tut at teenagers wearing their trousers below their arse cheeks, it's safe to say that your carefree Radio 1 days are behind you.

arse crack n. the cleft between the buttocks; cf. ass crack n. at ass n.² Compounds.

ΚΠ

1969 F. Moorhouse Futility & Other Animals 71 The spray deodorant made her armpits shrink and her arse-crack clutch itself tight.

1988 Melody Maker 9 Apr. 20/3 His arse crack becomes visible above his trouser belt as he gyrates.

2013 C. Tsiolkas Barracuda (2014) 168 He could feel sweat trickling down his arse crack.

arse-face n. (a term of abuse for) an unattractive or hated person; cf. bum-face n. at bum n.¹ and int.² Compounds 2.Earlier editions of the work cited at quot. 1929 translate the French face de fesse as ‘rump-face’.

ΚΠ

1929 F. Wray tr. H. Barbusse Under Fire (rev. ed.) ix, in tr. H. Barbusse Under Fire & Light 110 ‘You'd damn well like to be in the rotters' place.’ ‘Very likely—but what does that prove, arse-face?’

1990 Guardian 12 Nov. 26/4 Arse face! You may be tall but you're good for nothing.

2005 S. Saadi Psychoraag 103 One of their women had been GBH'd by an arse-face from Ibrox.

arse-gut n. now chiefly historical the rectum.In quot. 1667 figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior thing > [noun]

poornessa1382

chaffc1386

cold roast?1406

arse-guta1413

short end1560

under-kind1571

inferior1589

canvas-back1605

underthing1620

under-sort1655

wasteling1750

slouch1767

shamea1771

neck beefa1777

rep1786

wastrel1790

wastera1800

shoddy1862

piece1884

tinhorn1887

robbo1897

cheapie1898

buckeye1906

reach-me-down1916

dog1917

stinkeroo1934

bodgie1964

cheapo1975

the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun] > large intestine > rectum

longaona1400

arse-guta1413

rectum?a1425

backdoor1613

shitholea1629

asshole1865

rinktum1886

rectosigmoid1912

shitter1927

patootie1959

a1413 in J. Norri Dict. Med. Vocab. in Eng. (2016) 482/2 Al þe membris of þe body reseyuen hir nourschynge & hir fode fro þe lyuere & þe lyuere fro þe stomack & þe reffuse latiþ out at þe ers gutte.

1525 Anothomia in tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Handy Warke Surg. vii. sig. B.iv^v/2 The .vi. is namyd Longaon and that is the ars gutte.

1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 139/2 For the comminge out of the Arsegutte.

1667 R. L'Estrange tr. F. de Quevedo Visions ii. 66 The very Arse-gut, the Drain and Sink of Monarchies.

1829 ‘J. Hinds’ Vet. Surg. (ed. 2) i. ii. 142 Towards its termination, the colon makes a short turn, as if to prevent the too easy escape of the dung into the rectum, or arse gut.

2005 T. Mac Intyre What happened Bridgie Cleary i. vii. 63 The day-long hurlamabock of it'd twist yer arse gut.

† arse-poss n. Obsolete rare a heavy fall on to the buttocks; cf. poss n.² 2a.

ΚΠ

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Culant, setting on his taile, giuing an arse-posse vnto.

† arse-push n. Obsolete rare a heavy fall on to the buttocks; cf. arse-poss n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [noun] > falling down or from erect position (animates) > on buttocks

arse-push1660

pratfall1903

1660 J. Howell Lex. Tetraglotton Dict. (at cited word) That hath an arse-push, or fall on his arse.

† arse-ropes n. [ < arse n. + the plural of rope n.²] Obsolete the intestines.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun]

tharma700

ropeeOE

wombeOE

entrailc1330

arse-ropesa1382

entraila1382

bowel1393

bellyc1400

manifold?c1400

gutc1460

tripe?a1505

trillibub1519

puddingsa1525

singles1567

fibre1598

intestine1598

gutlet1615

colon1622

garbage1638

pud1706

intestinule1836

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings v. 9 Þe arsroppis [L. extales] of hem goyng out stoonkyn.

?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 515 Þe stone in þe bleddre ledeþ sometyme to þe sekenesses þat is cleped tenasmon and to goynge oute of þe ers roppe [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. longaon].

† arse-tharm n. Obsolete (perhaps) the rectum, or rectum and colon.On the form in quot. ?a1500, see note in etymology on specific forms.

ΚΠ

a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 637/2 Hic cirbus, harstharme.

?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 751/10 Hoc intestinum, hic colus, a nestarme.

† arse-thirl n. Obsolete the anus.

ΚΠ

OE Antwerp-London Gloss. (2011) 100 Anus uel uerpus, earsþerl.

† arse-winning n. Obsolete money earned by prostitution.

ΚΠ

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vii. l. 306 An hore of hure ers-wynninge may hardiloker tythe.

† arse-wisp n. Obsolete anything used to wipe oneself clean after defecation; cf. later arsewipe n. 1.

ΚΠ

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 14 Arswyspe, Maniperium, anitergium.

a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 627 Menpirium, arswyspe.

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xiii. 66 Torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	arse
释义	arsen.int. Brit. /ɑːs/, U.S. /ɑrs/ Forms: early Old English (Mercian) Middle English–1500s ers, Old English ærs, Old English (1900s English regional) ears, Middle English aars, Middle English eeres, Middle English eres, Middle English ersse, Middle English erys, Middle English hars, Middle English hers, Middle English herse, Middle English nes (in compounds, see note), Middle English–1500s (1800s English regional (Somerset)) erse, Middle English–1600s arce, Middle English–1600s ars, Middle English– arse, 1500s–1600s arsse; Scottish pre-1700 aers, pre-1700 ars, pre-1700 ersse, pre-1700 1700s– arse, pre-1700 1800s– erse, pre-1700 2000s– ers, 1900s– airse; also Irish English 1900s– erse. See also ass n.² Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian ers (West Frisian ears), Middle Dutch aers, ērs, eers (Dutch aars, also (with metanalysis; now rare) naars, (regional) eers), Old Saxon ars (Middle Low German ars, ērs), Old High German ars (Middle High German ars, German Arsch), Old Icelandic ars, also (with metathesis) rass (Icelandic rass), Old Swedish ars, ardz (Swedish (now regional) ars), Old Danish arz (Danish (now regional) ars, arts) < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ὄρρος (originally ὄρσος, attested in compounds).Specific forms. In Old English regular voicing of s when followed by a vowel in oblique cases would have created a homorganic consonant group before which lengthening could occur. Some Middle English forms in e reflect this, e.g. eeres, eres (the form ers is ambiguous with regard to vowel length, but may be presumed to reflect a long vowel in some instances; in Older Scots it reflects a short vowel). Somewhat later sporadic lengthening of a is perhaps shown by the Middle English form aars; apparently confirmed by Bullokar's rhyming of arse with dares , fares , scarce in the late 16th cent. (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) I. 431–2). The form nes (see quot. ?a1500 for arse-tharm n. at Compounds) shows metanalysis and apparent assimilatory loss of r (see N n., and compare ass n.²). The forms hars, hers, herse show prothetic h (see H n.). The word is sometimes (from the 17th cent. onwards) written with asterisks, dashes, etc., representing suppressed letters, so as to avoid the charge of obscenity. Use in place names. Attested early as an element in boundary markers in Anglo-Saxon charter bounds and in place names, probably denoting a rounded hill or hillock; compare: oxan ers, Pershore, Worcestershire (late 10th cent.), beafolces ears, Taynton, Oxfordshire (1059), Lanchers, Devon (1086; now Landcross), to Ersegrafan, Wiltshire (13th cent. in a copy of a charter of 955; now Ashgrove), Trollesers (field name), Lockton, North Riding, Yorkshire (1335), etc. Now slang.Generally regarded as coarse after the 18th cent., and more vulgar than (e.g.) bum, backside.The form arse is now rare in North America, where ass n.² (originally a variant of this word) is the usual form. A. n. 1. a. A person's buttocks; the bottom, the backside. Also: the anus; the rectum. Also occasionally: an animal's rump, anus, or rectum. N.E.D. (1885) interpreted quot. a1425 as showing sense A. 2, perhaps influenced by the variants in the original French, but it seems more likely to belong here; compare Chaucer's Summoner's Prologue (III ((D)) ll. 1675–1703). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [noun] > rump arseeOE croupc1300 crouponc1400 rumpc1425 rumplec1430 narsea1500 podex1601 poop1611 rump enda1658 breech1710 cushion1710 postabdomen1824 stern1830 bottle1935 dinger1943 ding1957 eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 189 Ani, þæs earses. a1350 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 133 In prude vch a screwe wol hire shrude þah he nabbe nout a smok hire foule ers to hude. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 171 (MED) He gadred..towaylls of þe auter and defouled hem wiþ the filþe of his ers [L. ani sui]..and anon his mouþ bycom his ers. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7576 Thou shalt for this synne dwelle Right in the deuels ers of helle [Fr. cul d'enfer, v.r. puis d'enfer]. ?a1425 (a1400) Brut (Corpus Cambr.) 297 Þey lete hange fox tailes..forto hele and heyde hire ars. a1450 (?1409) St. Patrick's Purgatory (Royal) 70 I saw the fendes turnyng here arses toward þe sowles. a1475 Bk. Hawking in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 301 (MED) For the stone. Anoynt the hawke is erys with oyle of olyve and put in powdere of alym with an holow strawe. 1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. xviii The 25. Capytle doth shewe of a mannes ars. a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. G2^v You shall lie while your arce ake. 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. iii. 236 Then mounted both upon their Horses, But with their faces to the Arses. 1691 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 369 Dr. Mander of Ball. Coll. said ‘it was not..fit to wipe one's arse with’. 1736 S. Carolina Gaz. 20 Nov. 4/2 A young black Roan Horse,..white Arse, Switch Tail. 1786 R. Burns Twa Dogs ii. in Poems 11 Till tir'd at last wi' mony a farce, They set them down upon their arse. 1818 Ld. Byron Let. 27 Jan. (1976) VI. 98 In the overturn of a coach the odds are that your arse will be first out of the window. 1826 Lancet 15 July 502/2 Ere he let his fury pass, To show them all his cool contempt, At sitting down he smacked his ——. 1865 ‘Philocomus’ Love Feast vi. 38 Carrie, his delight, Whose arse for plumpness would agree with famed Venus' callipygee. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xv. 268 Tha's got a proper, woman's arse, proud of itself. 1968 A. Fulton Dark Side of Mercy 7 After a few weeks in this country your arse will be as tough as raw hide. 2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 79 Some leave with a mumbled word of gratitude,..and some with a cuff round the head or a boot up the arse. b. The bottom or rear of an object.When denoting the bottom of a block in nautical contexts, possibly used with allusion to the groove or cleft through which the rope runs: see quots. 1721, 1813, 1908. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [noun] > back part or rear hinder enda1382 back-half1408 backside1417 arse1510 rear1609 postern1611 back-enda1617 arreara1627 back1626 averse1655 posteriorsa1657 ass1700 tail-end1747 rear end1785 west side1829 arse-end1837 hindside1862 ass-end1934 1510 A. Chertsey tr. Floure Commaundementes of God (de Worde) ii. c. f. ccxv/2 The good man in y^e arse of his carte. ?a1556 Grey Friars Chron. anno 1551 in R. Howlett Monumenta Franciscana (1882) II. 235 Whyppyd..at the carttes arse..for vacobondes. 1594 T. Stocker tr. G. Du Vair Holy Loue Heauenly Wisdome 410 They led me into the bottome of the arse of a ditch. ?1659 Vindic. Rump (single sheet) Whipt at the Arse of a Cart. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. vii. 289/2 The Distaff Shank or Arse, is set in a hole of the over cross piece. 1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (at cited word) Among Sailors..the Arse of a Block or Pulley, through which any Rope runs, is the lower end of it. 1742 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Aug. v. 11 [Lay the sheaves] in a sloping Posture, close together with their Arses outward. 1813 ‘T. Martin’ Circle Mech. Arts 70/2 The splice laying in the arse of the block. 1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorks. Folk-talk 269 T' shaff arses is as wet as sump. 1908 Man. Seamanship (1915) I. iii. 124 The standing part of the fall of this tackle is spliced into the strop at the arse of the single block. 1931 E. Raymond Mary Leith I. vi. 81 They wouldn't know the front of a railway train from its arse. 1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 30 July They'll probably go to the garbo in the arse of the ship. 2008 Gold Coast (Austral.) Bull. (Nexis) 24 Mar. They sit up the arse of the car in front of them. c. The part of a pair of trousers which covers the buttocks; the seat of the trousers. Also occasionally with reference to other garments. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > parts of > seat doup1819 seat1834 slack1848 arse?1859 ass1888 bum1949 ?1859 J. Riley Prophecies Explained 98 The sage pouring out his wisdom from the functions in the arse of his trowsers. 1938 R. Davies Jubilee Blues iv. 129 A new race with the arse out of their trousers and shirts. 1976 Mag. Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Mar. 12/2 They're like as not to have the arse out of your breeks. 2002 C. Adams Turquoise Days 1 I was too young and awkward to ‘split’ anything except the arse of my beige corduroys. 2. The remotest or least attractive part of a specified region. Cf. arse-end n. 3, arsehole n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > space > distance > distance or farness > [noun] > distant parts > the remotest part or place utmostc825 world-endOE world's endc1275 utteresta1300 utmostsa1382 uttermost1382 uttermosta1390 arsea1600 apogee1670 jumping-off place1826 Timbuctoo1863 arse-end1896 ass-end1960 a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 338 Considerand that it [sc. Scotland] was bot the erse of the warld be wther contries. 1622 T. Dekker & P. Massinger Virgin Martir ii. sig. E4^v The arse, as it were, or fag end of the world. 1660 A. Brome Bumm-foder (single sheet) Now we are got into the arse of the world. 1952 P. W. Miller in Sc. National Dict. III. 243/2 ‘Deed, I come fae 'e erse o' 'e country’..related to me by the Free Church minister of Latheron as an instance of the ordinary and innocent use of the word at that time—say 1870—by a respectable Christian woman. 1980 D. Storey Early Days ii, in Early Days; Sisters; Life Class 37 In the arse of the world I deployed my talents. 2011 R. Tamošaitis in M. Kvietkauskas Transitions of Lithuanian Postmodernism 146 The hopeless state of the Lithuanian nation as life in ‘the Arse of the Universe’. 3. A stupid, unpleasant, or contemptible person; a fool.The isolated early use in quot. c1785 is a form deleted in the original manuscript, recorded by the editor. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun] dizzyc825 cang?c1225 foolc1225 apec1330 mopc1330 saddle-goosec1346 mis-feelinga1382 foltc1390 mopec1390 fona1400 buffardc1430 fopc1440 joppec1440 fonda1450 fondlinga1450 insipienta1513 plume of feathers1530 bobolynec1540 dizzard1546 Little Witham?1548 nodc1563 dawkin1565 cocknel1566 nigion1570 niddicock1577 nodcock1577 cuckoo1581 Jack with the feather1581 niddipol1582 noddyship?1589 stirkc1590 fonkin1591 Gibraltar1593 fopper1598 noddypeak1598 coxcombry1600 simple1600 gowka1605 nup1607 fooliaminy1608 silly ass1608 dosser-head1612 dor1616 glow-worm1624 liripipea1625 doodle1629 sop1637 spalt1639 fool's head1650 buffle1655 Jack Adams1656 bufflehead1659 nincompoopc1668 bavian1678 nokes1679 foolanea1681 cod1699 hulver-head1699 nigmenog1699 single ten1699 mud1703 dowf1722 foolatum1740 silly billy1749 tommy noddy1774 arsec1785 nincom1800 silly1807 slob1810 omadhaun1818 potwalloper1820 mosy1824 amadan1825 gump1825 gype1825 oonchook1825 prawn1845 suck-egg1851 goosey1852 nowmun1854 pelican1856 poppy-show1860 buggerlugs1861 damfool1881 mudhead1882 yob1886 peanut head1891 haggis bag1892 poop1893 gazob1906 mush1906 wump1908 zob1911 gorm1912 goof1916 goofus1916 gubbins1916 dumb cluck1922 twat1922 B.F.1925 goofer1925 bird brain1926 berk1929 Berkeley1929 Berkeley Hunt1929 ding1929 loogan1929 stupido1929 poop-stick1930 nelly1931 droop1932 diddy1933 slappy1937 goof ball1938 get1940 poon1940 tonk1941 clot1942 yuck1943 possum1945 gobdaw1947 momo1953 nig-nog1953 plonker1955 weenie1956 nong-nong1959 Berkshire Hunt1960 balloon1965 doofus1965 dork1965 nana1965 shit-for-brains1966 schmoll1967 tosspot1967 lunchbox1969 doof1971 tonto1973 dorkus1979 motorhead1979 mouth-breather1979 wally1980 wally brain1981 der-brain1983 langer1983 numpty1985 sotong1988 fanny1995 fannybaws2000 c1785 W. Blake Island in Moon (1987) 32 If I have not presented you with every character in the piece, call me..Arse [corrected to ‘ass’]. 1943 M. Harris Vegetative Eye iii. 80 You silly arse, Fanny. 1986 C. Phillips State of Independence 139 A couple of stupid arses on motor bikes. 2010 G. Philpott Spanish Hotel i. 3 He phoned me at work yesterday and apologised for being such an arse. 4. With possessive adjective or genitive. Cf. ass n.² 3. a. Oneself, one's person or body.Typically used to impart greater force or vehemence to a statement than the use of a pronoun would convey.Recorded earliest in the phrase to bother one's arse (see bother v. and int. Phrases 1b). ΚΠ 1949 T. Skelton Clay under Clover xxvii. 137 Why bother your arse with that? Aren't we all 'uman bein's? 1969 Hudson Rev. 22 131 The implication..[was] that everyone..was fatuous and irrelevant because he wasn't dying in the Congo, dragging his arse through the paddy-field or demonstrating in Trafalgar Square. 1995 N. Blincoe Acid Casuals ix. 59 ‘Junk, get your arse down here.’ Burgess turned on his heels and strode down the corridor. 2014 B. Conaghan When Mr Dog Bites (2015) xiv. 122 If students didn't bother their arses attending from day to day, the schools didn't give two flying fishes. b. One's life, safety, or reputation.Typically used in various phrases as a more forceful or vehement alternative to neck, skin, etc.; cf. neck n.¹ Phrases 2a, skin n. Phrases 1c. ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > as possession headOE lifeOE heart-blood?c1225 innocent blood1382 heart's-blood1562 fanny1936 ass1948 butt1964 arse1970 the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > [noun] > one's reputation manhooda1425 reputationc1550 repper1910 fanny1936 ass1948 butt1964 arse1970 1970 A. Wiseman in M. Richler Canad. Writing Today 244 What if Hymie had risked his arse without finding out, any more than that? 1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 4 May He'll know his arse is on the line if he interferes. 2011 Guardian (Nexis) 1 Jan. 21 Make sure that when the banks fuck up, they're the ones that lose their arses, not us. 5. Originally and chiefly British. Nonsense, rubbish. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun] magged talea1387 moonshine1468 trumperyc1485 foolishness1531 trash1542 baggage1545 flim-flam1570 gear1570 rubbisha1576 fiddle-faddle1577 stuff1579 fible-fable1581 balductum1593 pill1608 nonsense1612 skimble-skamble1619 porridge1642 mataeology1656 fiddle-come-faddle1663 apple sauce1672 balderdash1674 flummery1749 slang1762 all my eye1763 diddle-daddle1778 (all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781 twaddle1782 blancmange1790 fudge1791 twiddle-twaddle1798 bothering1803 fee-faw-fum1811 slip-slop1811 nash-gab1816 flitter-tripe1822 effutiation1823 bladderdash1826 ráiméis1828 fiddlededee1843 pickles1846 rot1846 kelter1847 bosh1850 flummadiddle1850 poppycock1852 Barnum1856 fribble-frabble1859 kibosh1860 skittle1864 cod1866 Collyweston1867 punk1869 slush1869 stupidness1873 bilge-water1878 flapdoodle1878 tommyrot1880 ruck1882 piffle1884 flamdoodle1888 razzmatazz1888 balls1889 pop1890 narrischkeit1892 tosh1892 footle1894 tripe1895 crap1898 bunk1900 junk1906 quatsch1907 bilge1908 B.S.1912 bellywash1913 jazz1913 wash1913 bullshit?1915 kid-stakes1916 hokum1917 bollock1919 bullsh1919 bushwa1920 noise1920 bish-bosh1922 malarkey1923 posh1923 hooey1924 shit1924 heifer dust1927 madam1927 baloney1928 horse feathers1928 phonus-bolonus1929 rhubarb1929 spinach1929 toffeea1930 tomtit1930 hockey1931 phoney baloney1933 moody1934 cockalorum1936 cock1937 mess1937 waffle1937 berley1941 bull dust1943 crud1943 globaloney1943 hubba-hubba1944 pish1944 phooey1946 asswipe1947 chickenshit1947 slag1948 batshit1950 goop1950 slop1952 cack1954 doo-doo1954 cobbler1955 horse shit1955 nyamps1955 pony1956 horse manure1957 waffling1958 bird shit1959 codswallop1959 how's your father1959 dog shit1963 cods1965 shmegegge1968 pucky1970 taradiddle1970 mouthwash1971 wank1974 gobshite1977 mince1985 toss1990 arse1993 1993 Re: Absolutely Fabulous was Re: Reeves & Mortimer: vindicated at last! in rec.arts.tv.uk (Usenet newsgroup) 15 Dec. I think James that you are talking arse there. 2011 Sc. Star (Nexis) 28 Oct. 19 That story was a complete load of arse. B. int. slang (originally and chiefly British and Irish English). Expressing frustration, regret, or annoyance: ‘oh no!’, ‘damn!’. ΚΠ 1994 Re: Absolutely in alt.comedy.british (Usenet newsgroup) 2 May I missed it? Oh arse! 2001 Games Master Mar. 103/4 (caption) Arse! My iron undercrackers have rusted up again. 2016 M. Atherton Shot from Shadows lvii. 263 He heard himself groan, ‘oh arse’. Phrases P1. In various expressions with the sense ‘head over heels; in confusion’, as arse over head, arse over tip, arse over tit, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [phrase] > head over heels tail over top1303 top over tailc1330 heels over headc1400 tail and top1558 head over heels1678 over head and heels1678 heels over gowdy1751 head over tip1824 arse over tip1922 ass over tea-kettle1963 c1400 Life St. Anne (Minn.) (1928) l. 2721 (MED) Þe childer..played þer with þam at þe bawll; Þai welterd all ars ouer hede. 1565 W. Stewart tr. Breif Gathering Halie Signes f. 14 Quhairfore..haif ze mixit arse ouer head, oillis in the halie Sacrament of Baptisme? 1595 A. Munday tr. First Bk. Primaleon ix. 69 The Marques went arse ouer head, ouer his horse head to kisse the ground. 1672 M. Atkins Cataplus 51 Others by active fancy led Were at turning arse over head. 1710 E. Ward Life Don Quixote ii. viii. 148 Down he came, Arse over Head. 1834 J. B. Ker Ess. Archaiol. Pop. Eng. Phrases & Nursery Rhymes 105 Arse over head, as in the expression, ‘he fell arse over head.’ 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 445 Arse over tip. Hundred shillings to five. 1968 A. Diment Great Spy Race x. 184 I scrambled down a sharp bank..almost going arse over tit when my foot caught in a branch. 1972 Observer 24 Sept. 37/3 An alternative system which..turns Marx arse over tip. 1991 J. Kelman Burn (1992) 240 He walked as fast as he could..without slipping..arse over elbow into the burn. 2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 228 There was something backwards about it, arse over tit as Riley would have said. P2. to hang an (also the) arse: to hold back; to be reluctant or dilatory. rare after 18th cent.In quot. 1999 in historical context. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > be or become slow [verb (intransitive)] > be dilatory slowOE tarrya1375 linger1548 procrastinate1548 slackc1560 forslow1571 to hang back1581 to hang an (also the) arse1596 to hang fire1782 to be slow off the mark1972 1596 J. Harington New Disc. Aiax sig. E8^v (margin) Some of our rude countrimen English this obtorto collo, hanging an arse. a1640 P. Massinger Guardian v. iv. 94 in 3 New Playes (1655) Nay, No hanging an arse. 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 35 Could he stir To active trot one side of's Horse, The other would not hang an-Arse. 1710 J. Ozell tr. A. Tassoni Secchia Rapita i. 22 See how that Bitch There, hangs an arse, afraid to leap a Ditch! 1762 T. Bridges Homer Travestie I. ii. 138 Who fight, as if inspir'd by Mars, Or who, like Dutchmen, hang an a—se. 1834 J. B. Ker Ess. Archaiol. Pop. Eng. Phrases & Nursery Rhymes 66 To hang an arse, in the sense of, to remain behind, to give up first (before the rest). 1935 W. G. Smith Oxf. Dict. Eng. Prov. 517 To hang the groin (a leg, an arse), to hesitate or hold back. 1999 A. Mallinson Close Run Thing (2000) i. 35 Slade tries to curb all vigour in his subordinates, and hangs the arse at any price. P3. arse upwards. a. In good luck. Chiefly in to rise with one's arse upwards: to be lucky. rare after 18th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > in prosperous condition [phrase] > fortunately > in or with good luck arse upwardsc1600 in luck1752 on the tinny luck1918 quids in1919 c1600 Timon (1980) i. v. 19 This man this daye rose with his Arse upwards To daye a fidler and at night a Noble. 1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 80 He rose with his A—— upwards. A sign of good luck. 1709 E. Ward Secret Hist. Clubs xxii. 244 I'd rise Arse upwards e'ery Day by-times. 1738 J. Swift Treat. Polite Conversat. iii. 88 She had good Luck to draw Tom Plump into Wedlock; she rises with her —— upwards. 1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 18/1 Arse upwards, in good luck; luckily. b. Originally and chiefly British regional. Upside down, topsy-turvy; back to front. Cf. arsewards adv. ΚΠ 1896 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 75/1 [Northumberland] Arse-upwards, upside down... [Suffolk] ‘Arse-uppards’ is a usual term for many things lying bottom up. 1960 A. O. D. Claxton Suffolk Dial. 20th Cent. (ed. 2) (at cited word) To unlock a door with the keyhole in the reverse position one would have to put the key in ‘arse uppards’. 1970 Guardian 25 Mar. 11/6 Because Mother is read by many straitlaced and quite unpermissive ladies, the supplements [on sexual topics] are being inserted ‘arse upwards’. 2016 Observer (Nexis) 17 July (Film section) You start with a release date... Then they start on a script... To get around this..arse-upwards approach, Greengrass and Rouse wrote the script before filming started. P4. Phrases expressing contemptuous rejection, dismissal, or hostility, often as a retort. a. slang (chiefly British and Irish English). my arse!: expressing dismissive or incredulous contradiction, esp. as a scornful rejection of another's stated opinions; ‘nonsense!’, ‘like hell!’, ‘you must be joking!’. Usually following a full or partial restatement of what is being dismissed or rejected. Cf. my ass at ass n.² Phrases 1c, my foot! at foot n. and int. Phrases 9b, my eye at eye n.¹ Phrases 4n(b).In quots. 1602 and 1710 it is explicitly asserted that the speaker's buttocks are equal value or quality to the matter under discussion. ΚΠ 1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. vii. sig. I2 Crisp. They say, he's valiant. Tvcca. Valiant? so is mine Arse. View more context for this quotation 1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 3 Nov. (2013) 56 They..promise me letters to the two archbishops here; but mine a— for it all.] 1734 ‘C. Johnson’ Gen. Hist. Lives Highwaymen 62/2 Says Nehemiah, Quæso, Domine, dare mihi aliquid [i.e. ‘I beg you, master, to give me something’]: Quæso, quæso, my Arse, answer'd the Footman. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. v. 227 ‘You frighten the young Lady so, that you deprive her of all Power of Utterance.’ ‘Power of mine A—,’ answered the Squire. 1933 M. Lowry Ultramarine vi. 236 ‘Got icebreakers on them.’ ‘Icebreakers my arse.’ 1999 C. Aherne et al. Royle Family Scripts: Ser. 2 (2000) Episode 7. 160 Barbara. Let's all have a snowball! Don't snowballs make your feel Christmassy, ey? Jim. Snowballs my arse. 2015 A. Sparrow Harvesters x. 103 It's a load of old horseshit anyway, crashed alien spaceships my arse! b. to stick (also shove, etc.) (something) up your (also his, her) arse and variants. Frequently in stick (also shove, etc.) it up your arse. ΚΠ 1735 in P. Earle Sailors (1998) vi. 74 [He] told me I might stick the logg board in my arse etc. 1863 G. W. Gribbin in Proc. Court Martial (U.S. National Arch. RG 153, GCMO no. 128, File no. NN-0902) 6 Nov. If the Officers want to take my pay, they may take it and be God damned, and shove it up their arses if they like it. ?1927–8 J. Fliesler Anecdota Americana 85 Take this steak right back to the chef and tell him to stick it up his arse. 1965 P. Arrowsmith Jericho (1983) iv. 39 You know what you can do with that man—stuff it up your bloody arse. 1986 D. Potter Singing Detective ii. 54 Dr Gibbon : I will read you a passage. If I may. Marlow : (Evenly ) I'd rather you shoved it up your arse. 2005 N. Hornby Long Way Down 34 Stick your smile up your saggy old arse. c. With verb omitted, in up your arse. Cf. up yours at up prep.² 3b. ΚΠ 1971 New Statesman 7 May 645/2 Fellini ambles around,..yelling, ‘Up your arse!’ to Capucine and subsequently apologising. 1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines i. 34 I always knew it: typical fenian marxist fucking glory seeker. Up your arse. 2006 M. O'Farrell Vanishing Act Esme Lennox 104 As George is saying this Alex mutters, up your arse, and Iris has to swallow hard so as not to laugh. P5. slang (originally and chiefly British and Irish English). a. to —— one's arse off: to —— intensely, vigorously, or to excess. Frequently in to work one's arse off: to work extremely hard. Cf. ass n.² Phrases 7, to —— one's tits off at tit n.¹ Phrases 2b.With quot. 1923, cf. tear-arse n. at tear- comb. form 2. ΚΠ 1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 54 To tear one's arse off, s'échiner à travailler. 1981 F. Laker in Forbes (Nexis) 3 Aug. 34 If I don't work my arse off all the time, the dividend drops, the value of the shares goes down and that puts mine down. 1992 P. McCabe Butcher Boy (1993) 138 I went away laughing my arse off. 1994 Face Sept. 157/2 90 per cent of clubbers go to clubs to cop off, dance their arses off and get out of their head. 2016 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 21 Feb. 9 I work my arse off, I didn't have what they had as kids. b. to —— the arse off someone: to —— someone vigorously, intensely, or to an extreme degree. Originally and frequently with reference to sexual intercourse. Cf. to —— the tits off (someone or something) at tit n.¹ Phrases 2a. ΚΠ 1968 G. M. Williams From Scenes like These vi. 130 For a while it had been enough just to know he was banging the arse off a toff's daughter. 1971 F. Forsyth Day of Jackal xx. 336 We're looking for a fellow who screwed the arse off a Baroness..not a couple of raving nances. 1989 M. Darke First of Midnight (BNC) 67 It's enough to freeze the arse off a cat. 1994 Guardian 30 Mar. ii. 8/4 It would bore the arse off anybody, it's real anorak stuff. 2010 R. Doyle in New Yorker May 65/2 She rode the arse off me. P6. slang (originally and chiefly British). arse about face. Cf. arsy-versy adv. and adj., ass-backwards adv. and adj. a. As adjectival phrase: contrary to what is usual, expected, or logical; confused, muddled, perverse. ΚΠ 1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 54 Arse about face, c'en d'vant derrière. 1946 R. Grinstead They dug Hole ii. i. 70 That's the army all over, arse about face. 1993 Times 30 July 33/2 When the album came out, most people had spent more time reading about us than listening to us, which is the most arse-about-face thing I can think of. 2001 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 9 Mar. 28 Most people think technology, then processes, then people. That's arse about face. People is where it starts and stops. b. As adverbial phrase: in a manner contrary to what is usual, expected, or logical; backwards, back to front, the wrong way round. ΚΠ 1972 Guardian 23 Mar. 12/2 A director trying to have it both ways and ending up arse about face. 1990 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 24 Aug. He gripped the club ‘arse about face’—his right hand was above the left and he played right-handed. 2014 Bush Tel. (Queensland, Austral.) (Nexis) 15 July 19 We probably did things a bit arse-about-face, getting the cattle before the fencing. P7. not to know one's arse from one's elbow: to be very stupid or ignorant. Also not to know one's arse from a hole in the ground and other variants.Earlier currency is suggested by the euphemistic variant in quot. 1930. ΚΠ 1930 R. Blaker Medal without Bar xiii. 69 Nor 'an 'un of us knows 'is ears from 'is elbow when it comes to learning—learning like you orficers have got up your sleeves.] 1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral iv. 75 I wish I'd had a crowd like that for my first crew. We none of us knew arse from elbow when they pushed me off. 1968 W. Barker Brain Storms xxxvii. 147 You really don't know your arse from a hole in the ground. 1994 E. McNamee Resurrection Man (1998) v. 40 This Kelly character doesn't know his arse from a hole in his trousers. 2008 S. Toltz Fraction of Whole iv. 413 It confuses you so you don't know your arse from your elbow. P8. Scottish slang. arse for elbow: (in a manner) contrary to what is usual, expected, or logical; back to front, the wrong way round. ΚΠ 1953 J. Barke Crest of Broken Wave i. 54 Oh, damn fine I ken how things are a' arse for elbow in this world. 2000 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 3 May 17 ‘Is that an engagement ring?’ ‘No,’ says the other, ‘it's an eternity ring. We're doing everything erse for elbow.’ 2016 @acers9 11 May in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Your ups is down and your downs are up. Your lefts are rights. Basically everything is arse for elbow. P9. a. to get (up) off one's arse: to get going; to begin a course of action; to stop procrastinating or being lazy. Cf. to get off one's backside at backside n., adj., and adv. Phrases 3. ΚΠ 1960 B. Ash Someone had Blundered viii. 114 ‘Get your lazy self up off your arse and fill it your bloody self,’ said Slinger; and threw the basin back at him. 1970 Illustr. London News 25 Apr. 41/2 They all wanted things done but none of them were prepared to get off their fat arses. 1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes v. 133 Tell your father to get off his northern arse and get a job like the decent men of Limerick. 2015 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 21 June Everyone is getting fatter, everyone's getting diabetes..because no-one will get up off their arse and go for a run. b. to move (also shift) (one's) arse and variants: to get going, get a move on; to move swiftly, hurry up; to leave; (also) to get out of the way. Frequently in imperative.The word obscured by dashes in the text of quot. 1958 is likely to be arse, to rhyme with the words ‘enchanting farce’; compare quot. 1974. ΚΠ 1958 J. Lerner My Fair Lady i. vii. 83 Come on Dover!!! Move your bloomin' –—!!!] 1973 Spectrum 15 36 Shift arse old man, stop holding up the bus. 1974 Beverley (W. Austral.) Times 17 Oct. 5/3 (advt.) Be like Eliza Doolittle's horse... ‘Move your bloomin' arse!’ 1993 L. Davies Work, Sex & Rugby 88 By the time..[the solicitor] shifts his arse and writes a letter, that's a hundred quid. 1997 B. Breytenbach December in D. Hirson Lava of this Land 56 Jump to it! Clean up! Move arse! 2010 C. Reid Secrets at St. Jude's: Drama Girl 166 That will be my..dad now, wondering why I'm not shifting my arse fetching and carrying drinks. Categories » c. to get one's arse in gear: see gear n. Additions. P10. out on one's arse: ejected or dismissed from a job, post, etc. Cf. out on one's ear at ear n.¹ Phrases 1l. ΚΠ 1965 G. Skelton & A. Mitchell tr. P. Weiss Persecution & Assassination J.-P. Marat 13 Down with all the ruling class Throw all the generals out on their arse. 1984 Guardian 19 May 7/8 You could go to the toilet whenever you wanted to—and have a cigarette if you wanted one. If you'd done that in the mill, you'd have been out on your arse. 1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) xii. 320 Where am I then, missus? Out on my arse jobless and a mother to support that's ninety-two. 2010 Times (Nexis) 7 Sept. Look, I might get it wrong. I'll be judged on results, and if I don't get them, then I'll be out on my arse. P11. slang (originally and chiefly British). a. to disappear (also go, vanish, etc.) up one's own arse: to become self-involved, pretentious, or conceited, typically to a degree which is abnormal or harmful. ΚΠ 1966 P. Marshall Excluded from Cemetery ii. iii. 181 You see, logic cannot stand the application of logic. Under such an application, logic will disappear up its own arse. 1978 Sounds 11 Feb. 16/1 The self-serious artistic and socio-political statements of the Woodstock Generation? Oh dear. They vanished up their own arses, alright. 1998 Touch July 109/1 It's the kind of place that manages to revel in a bit of pretentious comfort without going too far up its own arse. 2008 New Musical Express (Nexis) 31 May Oasis have disappeared up their own arse. They think they are Led Zeppelin. b. to be up one's own arse and variants: to be self-involved, pretentious, or conceited. ΚΠ 1988 Marketing 8 Sept. 9 A friend of mine, who didn't like them, described them as ‘stuck up their own arse’. 1997 G. Williams Diamond Geezers xxviii. 170 Sanctimonious cowards, too up their own arses to feel pity for their victims. 2012 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 23 Sept. You become more interested in the world and not so up your own arse. P12. a. to make an arse of (someone): to cause (someone) to appear absurd or foolish. Cf. to make an ass of (someone) at ass n.¹ Phrases 2a. ΚΠ 1967 Observer 23 Apr. 22/5 To go along the wing bouncing the ball on the instep, making an arse of anybody who comes in to tackle. 1997 Sunday Times (Nexis) 10 Aug. They've made an arse of my mother, my brother, everything. 2015 Sunday Star-Times (Auckland) (Nexis) 30 Aug. 5 The victory..made an arse of the Greens. b. to make an arse of oneself: to behave in a way which makes one appear absurd or foolish. Cf. to make an ass of oneself at ass n.¹ Phrases 2b. ΚΠ 1968 G. Spunt Place in Time xxv. 195 I don't want you on that dance floor, making an arse of yourself, you understand? 1985 Colorado Springs (Colorado) Gaz. Tel. 15 Jan. a8/5 Our solitary study of where..the line is drawn between good sportsmanship and making an arse of oneself. 2010 L. Heidke Claudia's Big Break (2011) iii. 30 I usually made an arse of myself when it came to men. c. Scottish. to make an arse of (something): to mess (something) up; to botch, bungle, or ruin (something). Cf. to arse up at arse v. 2. ΚΠ 1974 Oral Hist. 2 i. 48 They had made an arse of Fairfield. The Party had made a cock-up of Fairfields. 1991 Conjunctions 17 83 Needed to be sure about these things..before you opened your mouth else just make an arse of the whole jingbang just fuck it up totally. 2013 C. Robertson Witness Dead xlvii. 389 We have to trust Winter not to make an arse of this. P13. to die on one's arse: to fail badly; to suffer an irreversible decline, come to a sudden or premature end. Originally and frequently with reference to stand-up comedians or other entertainers, and the failure of a live performance; cf. to die on one's feet at foot n. and int. Phrases 2d(b). ΚΠ 1984 T. Francis in K. Kirk Men in Frocks 110/1 Some of the songs go down as well as they did two years ago and so l'm a bit scared to get rid of them—good numbers are hard to find, and l haven't died on my arse yet. 1999 Guardian 6 May (G2 section) 13/1 Homer never had to die on his arse on an open-mike night. 2015 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 15 Aug. (Sport section) 77 Dark clouds are forming..because hurling is dying on its arse. Categories » P14. ask my arse: see ask v. Phrases 11. to get one's head out of one's arse: see head n.¹ Phrases 6g(b). to have one's head up one's arse: see head n.¹ Phrases 6g(a). with one's finger up one's arse: see finger n. Phrases 4c(b). a kick up the arse: see kick n.¹ Additions. to kiss (a person's) arse: see kiss v. 6l. not to give a rat's arse: see rat n.¹ Phrases 10. to think the sun shines out of a person's arse: see sun n.¹ Phrases 2b(c)(ii). to take it up the arse: see take v. Phrases 1m. to talk out of one's arse: see talk v. Additions. tits and arse: see tit n.¹ Phrases 3a. Compounds arse bandit n. slang (originally British) (derogatory and offensive) a homosexual man; cf. ass-bandit n. at ass n.² Compounds, bum bandit n. at bum n.¹ and int.² Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male badlingeOE nan1670 molly1708 Miss Molly1754 Miss Nancy1824 molly mop1829 poof1833 Margery?c1855 Mary Ann1868 pretty-boy1881 cocksucker1885 poofter1889 queer1894 fruit1895 fairy1896 homosexualist1898 puff1902 pussy1904 nance1910 quean1910 girl1912 faggot1913 mouser1914 queen1919 fag1921 gay boy1921 maricon1921 pie-face1922 bitch1923 Jessie1923 tapette1923 pansy1926 nancy boy1927 nelly1931 femme1932 ponce1932 punk1933 queerie1933 gobbler1934 jocker1935 queenie1935 iron1936 freak1941 swish1941 flit1942 tonk1943 wonk1945 mother1947 fruitcake1952 Mary1953 twink1953 swishy1959 limp wrist1960 arse bandit1961 leather man1961 booty bandit1962 ginger beer1964 bummer1965 poofteroo1966 shirtlifter1966 battyman1967 dick-sucker1968 mo1968 a friend of Dorothy1972 shim1973 gaylord1976 twinkie1977 woofter1977 bender1986 knob jockey1989 batty boy1992 cake boy1992 1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 983 Arse bandit, synonym for arse king [sc. a notorious sodomite]. 1977 Guardian 31 Aug. 8/5 The indignant remonstrance of a messmate that he was an arse-bandit. 2001 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 15 Mar. t4 I don't have a problem with homosexuals, one of my best friends is an arse bandit. arse-board n. regional (now rare) the tailboard of a cart; (also) a board on which a person sits. ΚΠ 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Arse-burd of a cart, the board which goes behind and shuts it in. 1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang I. 48/1 Arse-board, the hinder part of a cart. 1936 B. Ronald Dyson Gloss. Old Sheffield Trade Words & Dial. Arseboard, a board slung from behind the grinder to serve as a seat. 1969 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. i. 133 Tailboard,..[Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire] arse-board. arse cheek n. a buttock; (in plural) the buttocks; cf. ass cheek n. at ass n.² Compounds. ΚΠ 1865 ‘Philocomus’ Love Feast i. 9 He sucked my nipples, bit my breast, My belly rubbed, my arse-cheeks pressed. 1968 S. Yurick Bag viii. 290 Cybele, black Cybele, with her chocolate doughnut belly and her arsecheek jelly. 2012 Independent (Nexis) 6 Dec. 46 When you can no longer suppress the urge to tut at teenagers wearing their trousers below their arse cheeks, it's safe to say that your carefree Radio 1 days are behind you. arse crack n. the cleft between the buttocks; cf. ass crack n. at ass n.² Compounds. ΚΠ 1969 F. Moorhouse Futility & Other Animals 71 The spray deodorant made her armpits shrink and her arse-crack clutch itself tight. 1988 Melody Maker 9 Apr. 20/3 His arse crack becomes visible above his trouser belt as he gyrates. 2013 C. Tsiolkas Barracuda (2014) 168 He could feel sweat trickling down his arse crack. arse-face n. (a term of abuse for) an unattractive or hated person; cf. bum-face n. at bum n.¹ and int.² Compounds 2.Earlier editions of the work cited at quot. 1929 translate the French face de fesse as ‘rump-face’. ΚΠ 1929 F. Wray tr. H. Barbusse Under Fire (rev. ed.) ix, in tr. H. Barbusse Under Fire & Light 110 ‘You'd damn well like to be in the rotters' place.’ ‘Very likely—but what does that prove, arse-face?’ 1990 Guardian 12 Nov. 26/4 Arse face! You may be tall but you're good for nothing. 2005 S. Saadi Psychoraag 103 One of their women had been GBH'd by an arse-face from Ibrox. arse-gut n. now chiefly historical the rectum.In quot. 1667 figurative. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior thing > [noun] poornessa1382 chaffc1386 cold roast?1406 arse-guta1413 short end1560 under-kind1571 inferior1589 canvas-back1605 underthing1620 under-sort1655 wasteling1750 slouch1767 shamea1771 neck beefa1777 rep1786 wastrel1790 wastera1800 shoddy1862 piece1884 tinhorn1887 robbo1897 cheapie1898 buckeye1906 reach-me-down1916 dog1917 stinkeroo1934 bodgie1964 cheapo1975 the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun] > large intestine > rectum longaona1400 arse-guta1413 rectum?a1425 backdoor1613 shitholea1629 asshole1865 rinktum1886 rectosigmoid1912 shitter1927 patootie1959 a1413 in J. Norri Dict. Med. Vocab. in Eng. (2016) 482/2 Al þe membris of þe body reseyuen hir nourschynge & hir fode fro þe lyuere & þe lyuere fro þe stomack & þe reffuse latiþ out at þe ers gutte. 1525 Anothomia in tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Handy Warke Surg. vii. sig. B.iv^v/2 The .vi. is namyd Longaon and that is the ars gutte. 1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 139/2 For the comminge out of the Arsegutte. 1667 R. L'Estrange tr. F. de Quevedo Visions ii. 66 The very Arse-gut, the Drain and Sink of Monarchies. 1829 ‘J. Hinds’ Vet. Surg. (ed. 2) i. ii. 142 Towards its termination, the colon makes a short turn, as if to prevent the too easy escape of the dung into the rectum, or arse gut. 2005 T. Mac Intyre What happened Bridgie Cleary i. vii. 63 The day-long hurlamabock of it'd twist yer arse gut. † arse-poss n. Obsolete rare a heavy fall on to the buttocks; cf. poss n.² 2a. ΚΠ 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Culant, setting on his taile, giuing an arse-posse vnto. † arse-push n. Obsolete rare a heavy fall on to the buttocks; cf. arse-poss n. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [noun] > falling down or from erect position (animates) > on buttocks arse-push1660 pratfall1903 1660 J. Howell Lex. Tetraglotton Dict. (at cited word) That hath an arse-push, or fall on his arse. † arse-ropes n. [ < arse n. + the plural of rope n.²] Obsolete the intestines. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun] tharma700 ropeeOE wombeOE entrailc1330 arse-ropesa1382 entraila1382 bowel1393 bellyc1400 manifold?c1400 gutc1460 tripe?a1505 trillibub1519 puddingsa1525 singles1567 fibre1598 intestine1598 gutlet1615 colon1622 garbage1638 pud1706 intestinule1836 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings v. 9 Þe arsroppis [L. extales] of hem goyng out stoonkyn. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 515 Þe stone in þe bleddre ledeþ sometyme to þe sekenesses þat is cleped tenasmon and to goynge oute of þe ers roppe [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. longaon]. † arse-tharm n. Obsolete (perhaps) the rectum, or rectum and colon.On the form in quot. ?a1500, see note in etymology on specific forms. ΚΠ a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 637/2 Hic cirbus, harstharme. ?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 751/10 Hoc intestinum, hic colus, a nestarme. † arse-thirl n. Obsolete the anus. ΚΠ OE Antwerp-London Gloss. (2011) 100 Anus uel uerpus, earsþerl. † arse-winning n. Obsolete money earned by prostitution. ΚΠ c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vii. l. 306 An hore of hure ers-wynninge may hardiloker tythe. † arse-wisp n. Obsolete anything used to wipe oneself clean after defecation; cf. later arsewipe n. 1. ΚΠ Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 14 Arswyspe, Maniperium, anitergium. a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 627 Menpirium, arswyspe. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xiii. 66 Torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022). arsev. Brit. /ɑːs/, U.S. /ɑrs/, Irish English /ɑːrs/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: arse n. Etymology: < arse n. slang (chiefly British and Irish English).The form arse is now rare in North America, where ass v. is the usual form. 1. to arse about. †a. intransitive. To turn around so that one's buttocks are facing a particular direction. Cf. to face about at face v. Phrases 2. Obsolete.Apparently an isolated use.In quot. in a scatological portrayal of Aeolus, the Greek god of the winds, who here sets them loose by farting. ΚΠ 1664 C. Cotton Scarronides 9 Then (at his ease) Arsing about, To any Quarter let them [sc. the winds] out. b. intransitive. Also to arse around. To fool or mess about; to waste time. Cf. to ass around (or about) at ass v. 2b. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)] > potter or waste time in trifling activity trifle?a1400 loiterc1400 tiffc1440 tifflec1440 to pick a salad1520 to play the wanton1529 fiddle1530 dauntc1540 piddle1545 dally?1548 pittlea1568 pingle1574 puddle1591 to thrum caps1594 maginate1623 meecha1625 pudder1624 dabble1631 fanfreluche1653 dawdlea1656 taigle17.. niff-naff1728 tiddle1747 peddle1755 gammer1788 quiddle1789 muddle1791 browse1803 niddle1808 poke1811 fal-lal1818 potter1824 footer1825 putter1827 shaffle1828 to fool about1838 mike1838 piffle1847 mess1853 to muck about1856 tinker1856 bohemianize1857 to fool around1860 frivol1866 june1869 muss1876 to muddle about (also around)1877 slummock1877 dicker1888 moodle1893 to fart about1899 to fart about (or around)1899 plouter1899 futz1907 monkey1916 to arse around1919 to play around1929 to fuck around1931 tool1932 frig1933 boondoggle1935 to muck around1935 to screw around1935 to bugger about1937 to bugger around1939 to piss about1943 to dick around1948 to jerk around1953 fart-arse1954 to fanny around1969 slop1973 dork1982 to twat around (or about)1992 to dick about1996 the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > be or become foolish [verb (intransitive)] > act foolishly dotec1225 foleyec1374 fop1528 fond1530 daff1535 pract1568 dolt1573 daw1596 fool1597 guck1603 baboonize1611 prat1685 to play the fool1722 niff-naff1728 fopple1756 doitera1790 daffle1796 tomfool1825 to play (also act) the (giddy) goat1841 lallygag1862 silly1877 monkey1878 footle1891 to ass around1899 to play silly buggers (also beggars, bleeders, etc.)1903 to arse around1919 to jackass around1927 nimble-pimble1927 to fuck about1929 to fool up1933 to crap around1936 pantomime1958 prat1961 dork1990 1919 J. Joyce Ulysses xii. [Cyclops] in Little Rev. Nov. 53 Arsing around from one pub to another. 1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral ii. 22 Up in London you arse around and go to the local. 1995 C. Higson Full Whack (1996) xiv. 107 Once upon a time it hadn't seemed to matter. You were young, you arsed about, you drank. 2014 S. Wales Argus (Nexis) 8 Oct. She decided to try and write some actual material, rather than arsing about in wigs. 2. transitive. to arse up: to mess up; to botch, to bungle. Also intransitive. Cf. to ass up at ass v. 3, to cock up 3a at cock v.¹ Phrasal verbs. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle botch1530 bungle1530 mumble1588 muddle1605 mash1642 bumble?1719 to fall through ——1726 fuck1776 blunder1805 to make a mull of1821 bitch1823 mess1823 to make a mess of1834 smudge1864 to muck up1875 boss1887 to make balls of1889 duff1890 foozle1892 bollocks1901 fluff1902 to make a muck of1903 bobble1908 to ball up1911 jazz1914 boob1915 to make a hash of1920 muff1922 flub1924 to make a hat of1925 to ass up1932 louse1934 screw1938 blow1943 to foul up1943 eff1945 balls1947 to make a hames of1947 to arse up1951 to fuck up1967 dork1969 sheg1981 bodge1984 1951 G. Thomas World cannot hear You ii. 171 Feeling arsed up and emptied out. 1979 J. Wainwright Brainwash xxi. 96 Don't arse things up more than you have already. 1997 Observer 26 Oct. 29/6 If Peter ever suggests again..that Gordon ‘arsed up’. 2014 E. Essex After Scandal xx. 291 You could handle the reunion far better without me there to arse it all up. 3. transitive (in passive). To be willing to make the required effort; to be bothered. Usually in negative constructions, such as can't be arsed (to do something). Cf. earlier to bother one's arse at bother v. and int. Phrases 1b. ΚΠ 1968 H. Davies Beatles xix. 158 If they can't be arsed waiting for me, I can't be arsed going after them. 1988 G. Patterson Burning your Own vii. 88 Don't forget who it was who organized the building of all this when you were too sulky to be arsed doing anything. 1995 Empire Nov. 29/1 If you can't be arsed to work it out, the process is explained in loving detail on page 35. 2014 G. Wiles Where Birds Hide at Night 2 Sod off world, I can't be arsed with you today. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.int.eOEv.1664
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arsen.int.

Phrases

Compounds

arsev.