# What's a wazoo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742 "2005-12-15T16:51:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/1 "2005-12-15T16:51:57Z")
I assume it’s another synonym for “ass,” but you never hear the word in any context other than "out the … " 😕 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/2 "2005-12-15T16:58:14Z")
According to Frank Zappa, in the liner notes to his album _The Grand Wazoo_: “Anybody in any one of those lodge organizations with a stupid hat on,” said Frank, adding “actually, the guy with the biggest, dumbest hat is the Grand Wazoo.” Hope that helps. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/3 "2005-12-15T17:08:39Z")
It’s French for “bird.” Spelled “oiseau” in French. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/4 "2005-12-15T17:09:28Z")
[Dave Barry](http://baptism.co.nz/gram07.html) "checked with both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Rev. Billy Graham, and they agree that the correct word is ‘wazooty.’ " ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/5 "2005-12-15T17:14:43Z")
I thought it was a kazoo played through the anus. Clench your cheeks and hum! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/6 "2005-12-15T17:34:51Z")
> [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > It’s French for “bird.” Spelled “oiseau” in French. Hm, puts a whole new spin on flipping someone the bird. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/7 "2005-12-15T20:58:33Z")
Kinda puts a different light on the lyrics to Zappa’s “Cosmik Debris”: _But he told me right then when the top popped open There was nothin’ his box won’t do With the oil of Aphrodite, and the dust of the Grand Wazoo He said you might not believe this, little fella But it’ll cure your asthma too._ ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/8 "2005-12-15T21:17:01Z")
Washington State University (located in Pullman, WA). WSU, pronounced “wazoo”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/9 "2005-12-15T21:26:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > According to Frank Zappa, in the liner notes to his album _The Grand Wazoo_: “Anybody in any one of those lodge organizations with a stupid hat on,” said Frank, adding “actually, the guy with the biggest, dumbest hat is the Grand Wazoo.” > > Hope that helps. 😃 So, in other words, it’s an Asshat? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/10 "2005-12-15T21:28:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > According to Frank Zappa, in the liner notes to his album _The Grand Wazoo_: “Anybody in any one of those lodge organizations with a stupid hat on,” said Frank, adding “actually, the guy with the biggest, dumbest hat is the Grand Wazoo.” > > Hope that helps. 😃 So, if I pull something from my Wazoo, I’m simply removing it from a lodge member with a stupid hat? That doesn’t sound as fun as it should. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/11 "2005-12-15T21:48:22Z")
I believe it has many of the same characteristics as a _Poobah_. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/12 "2005-12-15T21:56:08Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I believe it has many of the same characteristics as a _Poobah_. Because of the fez? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/13 "2005-12-16T03:47:10Z")
The terms _wazoo, kazoo, gazoo_ all show up in print in about the 1960’s to mean usually the anus. They have been used to mean the vagina and penis, but rather infrequently. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/14 "2005-12-16T06:58:05Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > The terms _wazoo, kazoo, gazoo_ all show up in print in about the 1960’s to mean usually the anus. They have been used to mean the vagina and penis, but rather infrequently. Where did **gazoo** appear in the '60s? When Ronald Reagan sarcastically told the White House press corps that (roughly) “if I answer that, you’ll just shove it up my gazoo,” several reporters credited him with coining the word. Maybe Reagan was hipper than we gave him credit for. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/15 "2005-12-16T07:05:17Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Because of the fez? Because of the Poo. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/16 "2005-12-16T12:42:54Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Where did **gazoo** appear in the '60s? When Ronald Reagan sarcastically told the White House press corps that (roughly) “if I answer that, you’ll just shove it up my gazoo,” several reporters credited him with coining the word. Maybe Reagan was hipper than we gave him credit for. Wasn’t the alien on the Flintstones the Great Gazoo? ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-wazoo/335742/17 "2005-12-16T12:56:49Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Wasn’t the alien on the Flintstones the Great Gazoo? You’re telling me!