"That's anal!"

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>Michelle remarked the firing was anal!

Without having the acquaintance of Michelle, one cannot be certain of the
meaning. But I don't think the story supports "anal" = "fussy". If it were
"The boss fired her for splitting an infinitive; the boss's behavior was
anal[-retentive]", OK; but "The boss fired her for rudeness; the boss's
behavior was anal" calls for a different interpretation.

I would suggest a superficial interpretation: just as "The boss behaved
like an ass" > "The firing was asinine", one can have "The boss behaved
like an asshole" > "The firing was anal". This is not an unknown usage; in
fact I've encountered "anal" more often than "assholish" as the adjective
corresponding to "asshole" although both are infrequent in my experience.

This interpretation would be in line with Michelle's confusion at the
questions about meticulousness ... and perhaps she does not wish to explain
by applying the word "asshole" to the boss during her job interview?

-- Doug Wilson