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It's one of those phrases that seems preserved in amber from the 1990s, used, than as now, only by churlish misfits who actively dislike most other people.
It (unsurprisingly) surfaces on DL fairly often.
What is the origin?
Was it a way to ass "asshole" without using a vulgarism that would get picked up by some sort of censor protocol on old school email or text? Was it random? Or did it have its origins with a movie or TV show that was before my time?
Thanks.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | February 3, 2020 4:38 PM |
>>Was it a way to say "asshole" without using a vulgarism
(Can't even blame that on autocorrect)
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | February 2, 2020 8:16 PM |
A neologism from Usenet, swiftly spreading across dozens of newsgroups. Shorthand description of someone whose head was so far up his colon he was wearing his ass for a hat.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | February 2, 2020 8:54 PM |
Thank you R2!
I had a feeling it somehow stemmed from that world.
Much appreciated and filed under "What I Learned On Datalounge Today"
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | February 2, 2020 9:01 PM |
Is that what they mean when people say that Trump is a Russian asshat?
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | February 2, 2020 9:01 PM |
I think the first time I heard it was on Dawson's Creek.
"Asshole" was banned from network television, so this seemed a substitute.
Although the original meaning is cleverer.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | February 2, 2020 9:14 PM |
I always preferred 'glass bowl' to ass hat
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | February 2, 2020 9:58 PM |
It can be a way to say asshole, but I've mostly heard it in the context of something useless.
As in, no one needs an asshat.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | February 2, 2020 10:01 PM |
A "hat" is also a plastic receptacle that they provide for hospital patients to poop into (don't ask how I know this). I thought maybe that was where the term originated.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | February 2, 2020 10:04 PM |
Miss R8: Are they then ever sold on eBay? Asking for a sister.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | February 3, 2020 2:47 PM |
I had not realized it was the subject of scholarly efforts or else I would have googled first.
This expands on R2
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | February 3, 2020 4:26 PM |
Asshole is a perfectly good word and everybody knows what it means.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | February 3, 2020 4:26 PM |
Thank you R11 for showing how to use Google for those who forget that Google and other search engines are at their fingertips 24/7. I get asked all the time about what something means by people who have ready access to the answer.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | February 3, 2020 4:35 PM |
I think OP clearly got called an asshat and is annoyed by it, but in a precocious obnoxious manner.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | February 3, 2020 4:38 PM |
Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.
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