Is there any? In your mind, what makes a person an asshole but not a douchebag, or the other way around? Or is there substantial overlap?
Enlighten me, please.
In my mind, an asshole is someone with malicious intent. A douchebag is someone irritating who doesn’t necessarily mean to be so.
Yep, assholes are just mean. Douchebags are smarmy.
Being an asshole implies active aggression towards others. Being a good douchebag doesn’t require aggression but it does require a certain type of arrogance and little regard for the feelings of others. If you are in a bar, the asshole is the one that will push or bunch you if you bump into them. The douchebags will hit on your date or stand in front of you when you are trying to watch the band.
We have done some of this here before with examples;
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-493111.html
I often use “douchebag” now where I would have used “fratboy” five years ago. Someone who’s more dopey than malicious, smells like AXE body spray, will try and fight you for any given reason, and so on.
I have a lot more respect for assholes than I do for douchebags.
Well, assholes may want to fight, too. But the asshole’s going to throw a punch and have it out, fair and square. The douchebag is going to gather up his posse of douches and have someone else sucker punch you, or else just stand around yelling “Hey! You wanna go?! You wanna fight?!” over and over again.
Assholery is more about not caring, not thinking, about what other think or feel and wish. It’s a form of self absorption at it’s base.
Douchebaggery is about actively pushing the limits of assholery with intent.
At least to my mind.
One is an anatomical structure involved in elimination, the other is a tool for hygenic or prophylactic procedures. That distinction doesn’t directly correlate to how people use these terms when referring to people. Those distinctions seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
Douchebags are far more self-absorbed than assholes.
Sometimes you have to be an asshole when dealing with assholes. The same isn’t true with douchebags.
A douchebag can be useful for cleaning an asshole. And asshole can be used to shit all over a douchebag. Don’t mix them up.
A**holes enjoy the damage they cause. Douchebags just don’t care.
I would say that the douchebags are more careless about how they (negatively) affect other people while assholes go out of their way to (negatively) affect other people, but that makes douchebags seem more benign than they actually are. A wilful ignorance, perhaps?
Assholes are intentionally mean and hateful. Douchebags are extremely annoying, reflecting a certain self-centeredness combined with profound dumbassery.
An asshole will go all road-rage on a nice old lady driving just under the speed limit.
A douchebag will make even the nice old lady want to pull out her gun.
Yeah, that’s a good way of describing it. 
Thanks for the explanation. In the spirit of this thread, can someone define the word “tool”. What does it mean if someone’s a “tool”? If you can compare and contrast with “asshole” and douchebag", so much the better.
A tool thinks they’re the shit because they are an important cog in their little world and can flaunt that in some settings against you, like a DMV clerk.
A douchebag thinks they’re the shit due to access to superior class or status, not realizing that they have no claim on that class or status themselves.
An asshole just wants to exert power over you in that moment.
Perfect. I was thinking of the utility guy that was in the neighborhood yesterday marking out all the lines. My neighbor has a water leak near the street, and was worried that when they dig, they’re going to harm the giant tree next to.
Neighbor: Is the digging going to damage the tree?
Utility Guy: What do you think?
Neighbor: 
I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.
Utility Guy: Of course it’s going to disturb it! It’s right next to it!
In actuality, there’s a good chance that digging won’t disrupt or damage the tree. A tree that big has an enormous root system, and damaging some of it’s roots may not be a problem. There are certain measures they should take, but it’s not a certainty.
Interesting answers so far. Thanks, everyone.
Honestly not seeing how this interchange is toolery, assholey, or douchebaggery. The utility person is not an tree specialist , he has leak to fix in a pipe running next to the tree which must be done. The neighbor is asking him for a some sort of conclusion or diagnosis about how this will impact the tree. The Utility Guy has no possible way of answering other than a straightforward statement of “yes it’s going to disturb it”.
I’m not clear of what you or your neighbor think he should have said.