a*****e (or arsehole outside of North America) is a slang term for the a**s, the whole posterior or an abusive term for a person.
Since a** or arse means a**s, and hole is commonly used as a euphemism for the same organ, the word is technically a pleonasm in its literal use; however in common speech a** or arse is more often used as a pars pro toto for the buttocks (or even for the whole individual), so the specification -hole effectively restores the original anatomical meaning a**s. An analogous term in a Cognate language is Arschloch in German.
SemanticsThe word is mainly used as a profanity towards someone the speaker does not like or whose behavior is hurtful, self-centered or particularly abrasive. Usually, the term is directed at a male (in female anatomy, the focus is deflected to the nearby genitals the v****a). It may also sometimes be used to describe people who are viewed as stupid or useless or even meaningless, similar to jerk.
This word or its literal translation is found in colloquial speech in a number of cultures (in both English and other languages). This is because it describes an organ of elimination that is considered a taboo region (since it belongs to the intimate parts) of the body in many societies.
The English word a** (meaning donkey, a cognate of its zoological name Equus asinus) may also be used as a term of contempt, referring to a silly or stupid person. In North America, the words arse and a** have become synonymous; however, in the rest of the world, a** still only refers to the donkey, rather than the arse (buttocks). It is worth noting that speakers of some varieties of English "drop their Rs" before consonants, leading to a pronunciation of arse that is quite similar to a**.
Until the early 1990s, the word was considered one of a number of words that could not be uttered on commercial television in the United States. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay caused a major shock when he uttered the word during a televised awards show in the 1980s. By 1994, however, the word was considered less vulgar, and was often featured in dialog on the long-running television series NYPD Blue; it has yet to become anything close to commonplace on network TV, however. It is important to note that while the word a** has found a place on broadcast television, a*****e is not used, probably due to its more vulgar connotation. In some broadcast edits (such as the syndication airings of South Park), the word is partially bleeped out - ironically, as "assh---", with the profane half of the word intact.
In 1993, actor Denis Leary enjoyed some success with a comedic song called "a*****e" which opened his stage play No Cure For Cancer and was featured in a music video. It topped the Triple J Hottest 100, 1993 in Australia and subsequently reached #2 on the charts in that country in 1994. Alternative rock artist Beck has written and recorded a song called "a*****e," one of his most acclaimed compositions. The British ska-punk band Snuff also have a song named "Arsehole", while Canadian comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie have had a song called "The a*****e Song" in their repertoire since the late 1980s. In 2004, the song "a*****e" by the band Jim's Big Ego was used as the soundtrack to a popular internet filmstrip about the Bush administration. Gene Simmons of rock band KISS released his solo album under the name a*****e which also featured a song of the same name.
Similar compounds with a**Asshat is a slightly trendier and less severe variation of a*****e, graphically describing someone who has his "head up his own a**" (i.e., not knowing what's going on), or a variation of "butthead". In the former sense, it is suggested that one is wearing one's a** for a hat. A more modern usage of asshat describes a person doing something stupid, and can apply to anyone: "The boss is up to asshattery because he broke the computer even though he knew he was doing the wrong thing." This meaning was popularized by Something Awful character Jeff K.
The word is popular in many online communities, serving as a more palatable version of its antecedent. According to Google's Usenet statistics, the word only saw a token appearance every day or two starting in July, 1999, but following a slow rise in 2002, it entered popular usage in May, 2003.
As it continued to grow in popularity, asshat began to be used by online gamers, in first person shooter and massive multiplayer role playing games. It was a commonplace word on servers where vulgar language was not allowed.
The insult assclown is used in a similar fashion, although it is not as common. Assclown has become well known among fans of the WWE due to wrestler Chris Jericho using it during his promos, especially his "Highlight Reel"; the term was also famously used in the film Office Space to describe singer-songwriter Michael Bolton. "Assclown" is also used by radio personality Todd Schnitt.
Asstard is another rarer variant upon the a**– theme. It is possibly a portmanteau of a*****e and retard and has almost the same meaning as a*****e, but with a greater implied connotation of stupidity. An identically spelled version of the same word is a contraction of a*****e and b*****d, with a commensurately more abusive meaning. It is usually described as XXX-[C]hidori[K]night-XXX on www.gaiaonline.com
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