# Why "asshat"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2002, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332 "2002-05-29T12:25:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nenya_Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/1 "2002-05-29T12:25:53Z")
I don’t know if this should be in the Pit, but since it concerns non-MPSIMS-ish language I’ll put it here: Why do people say “asshat”? It makes no sense to me. It’s anatomically impossible, for one thing, and doesn’t sound particularly derogatory for another. Is an asshat what a person wears when they have their head up their posterior? 😕 Please explain. Thanks! (If I’m allowed to say _that_ in a Pit thread! –Nenya ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/2 "2002-05-29T12:30:13Z")
It would seem to imply that one had one’s head inserted in one’s anus. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/3 "2002-05-29T12:36:36Z")
It means that you are going to have the wrath of [Gale Snopes](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093822) rained down upon you. ---
**Author:** ![Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nenya_Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/4 "2002-05-29T12:49:06Z")
Elucidate? I haven’t seen that movie so I don’t get the reference… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/5 "2002-05-29T13:06:33Z")
“Anyone left bipedal in five wears his ass for a hat” Said during a bank robbery. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/6 "2002-05-29T13:17:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\*It means that you are going to have the wrath of [Gale Snopes](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093822) rained down upon you. \*\* From your link there, I do like this > [@](#): > > If you like this title, we also recommend… > > Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) Of course - fans of Raising Arizona are bound to like Lethal Weapon 4! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/7 "2002-05-29T15:32:26Z")
Not to mention _Another 48 Hours_ and _Repo Man_! Ah, the joys of statistics. Thanks for spotting me on that one, **Joe\_Cool**. That was exactly my reference. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/8 "2002-05-29T15:59:35Z")
Isn’t “asshat” a **jarbabyj** -ism? It sounds like one of hers, but I don’t want to bog down the hamsters with a search for its first use on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/9 "2002-05-29T22:25:20Z")
It would appear that **Guin** coined it or used it first [here.](http://www.fathom.org/teemingmillions/bandnames.adp) Great word btw, whoever came up with it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/10 "2002-05-30T00:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*It would appear that **Guin** coined it or used it first [here.](http://www.fathom.org/teemingmillions/bandnames.adp) Great word btw, whoever came up with it. \*\* Thanks. Yep, I brought “asshat” to the SDMB. But I didn’t coin it-I got it from SAAN\*, who, I suspect, got it from SA\*\* \*Smile And Act Nice, now gone, but we have a new forum called El SAANo \*\*Something Awful ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/11 "2002-05-30T00:08:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nenya\_Elizabeth \* > \*\*Elucidate? I haven’t seen that movie so I don’t get the reference… \*\* This is a serious character flaw, which needs to remedied at the earliest opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/12 "2002-05-30T00:16:56Z")
Well thanks for bringing it here Asshat! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/13 "2002-05-30T02:51:01Z")
Back in '88, when I turned 18, I used to go see Dennis Leary at Nick’s Comedy Stop (Boston) on a regular basis. He had a point in his routine where he would start singing, “Liberace…Liberace…Liberace…His Ass WAS A HAT!!” That’s where I got it from:D ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/14 "2002-05-30T04:32:08Z")
Do some of us say “arsehat”? Personally, I prefer the more dignified “jizzrag” as an epithet. ---
**Author:** ![Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nenya_Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/15 "2002-05-30T09:43:36Z")
Well, now at least I have some sort of reference for the term. Does sound very **Guin** -ish or **jarbabyj** -like. It’s struck my fancy lately, and I’ve started to use it a bit IRL. Mostly to myself when I’m being a pain. 🙂 _Raising Arizona_, eh? I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, all. [shameless self-congratulation] Hey, 13 replies to a Pit thread by me! Am I cool or what?! \ 😃 [/shameless self-congratulation] –Nenya E. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/16 "2002-05-30T11:30:21Z")
With all due respect to **Guinastasia** , SA, SAAN, et al, I don’t think the term “asshat” was invented by them. It’s a reasonably common insult amongst my friends - none of whom read message boards - and has been for a couple years. But we didn’t invent it. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-asshat/111332/17 "2002-05-30T16:20:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narrad \* > \*\*With all due respect to **Guinastasia** , SA, SAAN, et al, I don’t think the term “asshat” was invented by them. It’s a reasonably common insult amongst my friends - none of whom read message boards - and has been for a couple years. > > But we didn’t invent it. \*\* Hence _Thanks. Yep, I brought “asshat” to the SDMB. But I didn’t coin it-I got it from SAAN_, who, I suspect, got it from SA\*\* \*