# Has Anyone Heard the Expression "Ass over Teakettle" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 18, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921 "2020-06-18T19:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/62 "2020-07-02T03:38:44Z")
I’ve used the expression my whole life. Picked it up from my parents. All of us are Minnesota born. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/63 "2020-07-02T14:45:48Z")
I’ve heard the phase “asses and elbows” to mean either cramped or frenetic activity. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/64 "2020-07-02T17:02:50Z")
Grew up in Chicagoland, most of my adult life in or around San Francisco. I know it, use it, but have no idea where or when I first encountered it. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/65 "2020-07-03T04:43:10Z")
> I’ve heard the phase “asses and elbows” to mean either cramped or frenetic activity. My mother’s phrase for that was “in and out like a fart in a colander”. On the other hand, my father’s euphemism for the OP’s phrase was “base over apex”. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/66 "2020-07-09T05:18:26Z")
I’ve heard it occasionally on British TV shows but never in real life. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/67 "2020-07-09T08:31:10Z")
[I suppose it’s anybody’s guess where William Carlos Williams picked it up.](https://www.waywordradio.org/ass-over-teakettle/) ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/68 "2020-07-09T09:07:42Z")
That’s right. Arse over tit is commonplace in the UK, especially in London, but also elsewhere. If it is also common in New England, that suggests it has a long history. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/69 "2020-07-09T16:50:59Z")
I heard it on a podcast in the last week or so. The guy who used it is from Louisville. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921/70 "2020-07-11T05:59:09Z")
I used it myself a couple of months ago. I got into my hammock, which promptly flipped me out the other side. I landed in an indescribably strange position. My phone rang just then, so I took it out of my pocket and answered. When asked how I was, I replied, “I’m fine, except that I just fell ass over teakettle out of my hammock and I’m still up-side-down. “ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-heard-the-expression-ass-over-teakettle/855921.md?page=3)