I thought the pass was because the person in question passes remarks. Damnit now I’m looking at loads of different phrases I use and wondering if any of them make sense when you think about it.
I think bold is another one that we use differently. To the rest of the world it means brave but here it means naughty. Unless the British also use it like that.
How about ignorant? Nine times out of ten if someone were to call someone else ignorant here they would mean that the person is rude.
ETA: never mind
I’ve heard British people use “ignorant” that way too, but I’ve just dismissed it as their being, well, ignorant of the word’s meaning. Unless they mean “ignorant of social graces”, I suppose.
“Bold” can mean something like “impudent” or “cheeky” here, too. But surely it also means “brave” in the US?
Scottish, heard it frequently - but now that I think of it, really only from my father.
For me, as well as implying that the pass-remarkable person is a little too keen to comment negatively on others, it also suggests that that’s all they do - sit on the sidelines and bitch, essentially.
I got the sense it was making an adjective out of the phrase “always passing [negative] remarks”.
In the US, we don’t have the verb phrase “pass remarks” either, so your explanation doesn’t help it make sense.
As for “ignorant”, that’s a pretty common usage here too, as in “Your dress is ugly” “What an ignorant thing to say to me!”