I have always heard this term (not directed at me!) but never knew what it meant. Now I’ve got you guys to ask! Help me! What does it mean??
“Anal retentive” is a term used to describe a person who is too concerned with order. It comes from Freud, who believed that during the “Anal Stage,” from 18 to 36 months, where a child’s sexual energy is focused on holding and expelling feces. A child who fixated on holding feces would become “anal-retentive” and have a hoarding, or overly ordered personality. Obviously Freudian psychology isn’t used much these days, but it offers a nice thumbnail description of an individual with those personality traits. It is succinct and vivid, so it has remained with us.
I believe its a psychological term identifying a personality which needs to be neat, perfect, controlling, etc.
Coined by Freud(?) as an infantile personality the child never really grows out of…as opposed to Oral Retentive, which means…uh…something else.:rolleyes:
However, I think it’s important to consider that the way most people use the phrase might trace back to a different image: the person who is so tightly wound that he (or she) keeps his/her buttcoks tightly clenched at all times.
…anal explosive.
Q
Anal retentive - also used as a euphemism for “full of shit.”
Hail to the “Anal Retentive” series on SNL back in the early 90’s.
Quasimodem,
Did I miss the joke (afterall it is Monday!) or do I have to report this to the malapropisms thread?