Is “Ass” the Most Complicated Word in English?
pudding.cool
pudding.cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh9iO5BxBo&feature=youtu.be
He also does a "clean" version for television, and I think he's done a version for "ass" as well. This was my favorite.
That's literally what the whole article is about.
So at the end of a date he's on the doorstep with a girl and they are saying goodbye:
He says: I'd like to come in your house
She looks shocked. So he says: I won't try to kiss you, I just want to come in your house
Shrek: "I've got to save my ass" -- meaning his donkey (named Donkey), but Fiona interprets that differently from his intended meaning.
Also, I would interpret piece of ass as sex object, not beautiful. It's about just being used for sex. A less ugly use of the expression is roughly "looking for no-strings-attached sex."
Unless you have some weird fetish, you probably aren't looking for ugly people you barely know to use in bed and discard like they don't matter.
The difference being no one wanders through a garden or museum saying "Those flowers are a piece of ass!" or "That painting is a piece of ass!" to mean "These completely nonsexual objects are amazingly beautiful."
Beautiful women get treated as nothing but sex objects. That doesn't mean euphemisms for "I'd hit that!" are equally synonyms for "That's got incredible visual appeal."
Try explaining to your boss that a website layout is good design in part because "It's a piece of ass!" and see how well that goes.
As a native English speaker it does not contain that in itself, though it's frequently accompanied by a positive qualitative assessment of utility as a sex object (very often also dehumanizing by using wording traditionally used for objects rather than humans, e.g., “that’s a fine piece of ass!”), which assessment is often based on appearance (and frequently accompanied by nonverbal communication or other context which clearlt—often lewdly—indicates that the qualitative assessment of sexual utility is based on appearance, often quite specific features of appearance.)
Yes. There is 'fine piece of ass' as one might hear one utter of an uninvolved person to a friend that matches what you are describing.
That changes significantly when the subject to whom the "fine piece of ass" belongs is a direct recipient of the comment. I.e. "Girl, you have/are one fine piece of ass."
In that case there is communicated the sense of appreciation of beauty between the speaker and receiver. There is the also the not necessarily explicit "that I'd like to try," which clearly distinguishes the "appreciative" form from the "sex objectification form."
Be aware this is not license to use the phrase carelessly. Aware of the norms of the company you're keeping must be taken into account. On the American side of the pond, careless banding about of that sort of thing has been growing increasingly problematic in any business casual up, or official social context. It is a solidly informal comment not intended for "polite company".
I'm a blast at parties. For the curious. (I'm really not.)
Which would, well, ruin his landing. It works because it's close.
Ignorance: Fucked if I know.
Trouble: I guess I am fucked now!
Fraud: I got fucked at the used car lot.
Aggression: Fuck you!
Displeasure: What the fuck is going on here?
Difficulty: I can’t understand this fucking job.
Incompetence: He is a fuck-off.
Suspicion: What the fuck are you doing?
Enjoyment: I had a fucking good time.
Request: Get the fuck out of here.
Hostility: I’m going to knock your fucking head off.
Greeting: How the fuck are you?
Apathy: Who gives a fuck?
Innovation: Get a bigger fucking hammer.
Surprise: Fuck! You scared the shit out of me!
Anxiety: Today is really fucked.
http://www.spiritualsatya.com/osho-meaning-and-versatility-o...
Those fucked fucking fuckers fucked fucked the fucker.
"fuck" is fascinating in part because it doesn't mean much beyond amplification. It's pure emotion
- "Dude" = cool
- "Dude" = come on man, really?
- "Dude!" = WTF man, I should punch you in the face
- "Dude!" = holy crap, I just got that girl's number!
- "Dude?" = who's there, is there a killer in my house?
- "Dude?" = no shit, for real?
- "Dude!?" = why'd you sleep with my sister?!
- "Dude" = hey Steve
- "Dude." = not cool bro
- "Dude!!!" = you're not gonna believe this!
- "Dude" = stfu before the cop maces you, idiot.
- "Dude..." = did we just see that car flip and roll 11 times down the hill, do you think anyone is alive, I can't believe that just happened
- "Dude." = look man, you're really drunk and me and my girl are trying to have a nice walk and you really need to turn around and walk in the opposite direction of us.
Etc etc, I'm sure you get the point.
I've also seen it used in stand up several times and I feel like at least one film.
"Dude, Where's My Car?"
Half the dialogue (ok, I'm probably exaggerating a little bit) is the word "dude". Often repeated many times in different intonations.
"Dude, what's mine say?"
"Sweet, what's mine say?"
"Dude, what's mine say?!"
"Sweet! What's mine say?!"
E.g most of the examples above fall in a small set of categories of expressing excitement, incredulity etc. where the carrying word is of less importance. E.g. you can express "cool" or incredulity with "dude", "mate", "fuck", "bro", "awesome", "neat", "man", and I'm sure many others by just layering the same intonation on them; not all intonations will "work" or carry the same meaning on the same set of words (e.g. expressing anger works fine with "fuck" or "bro" or "dude", but not really with "awesome" or "neat" unless you want to give off really confusing mixed emotions) or to the same groups of people, though, so it's certainly somewhat mediated by the meanings of the underlying word, but often surprisingly little.
There certainly are words that are more malleable that way, and words like dude and fuck are high on the list, perhaps because they as standalone expressions carry very little specific meaning in the word itself that can interfere with the intonation and expressed emotional content.
Not sure which ass dictionary this will fit in
"In this episode, we explore the history of swearing and obscenities, and we examine Chaucer’s use of bawdy language in the Miller’s Tale"
https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2019/09/25/episode-129-c...
Like how a chef who only knows about cayenne and salt wouldn't be using subtle spices like paprika. He's just going to bludgeon every dish with salt and cayenne since those are the two spices he has used the most thus far. He might find some creative uses for cayenne, but that doesn't mean cayenne is suddenly the most versetile and complex spice.
Language is nothing but a set of conventions which necessarily evolves with its userbase.
I think I saw a comedian doing such a routine with the word "shit" before...