| 例句 |
ass noun 1.•he rode on an ass:donkey, jackass, jenny | burro. 2.informal •don't be a silly ass:fool, idiot, dolt, simpleton, imbecile | dimwit, halfwit, dummy, dum-dum, loon, jackass, cretin, jerk, fathead, blockhead, jughead, boob, bozo, buffoon, numbskull, numbnuts, lummox, dunce, moron, meatball, doofus, ninny, nincompoop, dipstick, lamebrain, chump, peabrain, thickhead, dumb-ass, wooden-head, pinhead, airhead, birdbrain | nitwit, twit, turkey, goofball, putz | dated tomfool, muttonhead. 3.informal •I'm tired of sitting around on my big fat ass. See buttocks. USAGE ass, arse Arse is the spelling of the British slang term—in the anatomical sense, that is, not in the horse sense. In American English, ass is the spelling for both meanings. There's a story behind this. Today ass means both (1) “donkey” and (2) “a person's bottom.” Sense 1 is the historical one; sense 2 originated in the mid-eighteenth century as the result of a phonological change, as arse and ass became homophones. By the early nineteenth century, it was possible to engage in wordplay between the words—as in an 1802 cartoon (“Neddy [a donkey] Paces at Tunbridge Wells [in Kent, England]”), in which one female rider says to another, “I'll show my Ass against any Lady's at Wells.”.Usage notes show additional guidance on finer points of English usage. |