Finally!

[Douglas G. Wilson]

It seems that "ass" in these expressions often (not always) can be
replaced by "self".

Sometimes this "ass" seems to approximate "body". Sometimes "carcass"
is interchangeable: "Get your lazy [carc]ass out of that chair!" Is
"carcass" oroiginally euphemistic? or did it predate "ass" in this context?

I like this one, which has variants: "He's got a battleship mouth but
a tugboat/rowboat ass." Seems usually to mean "He talks big but
can't/doesn't perform." Pick your own gloss for "ass" here: IMHO
"self" is close in a way but maybe "character" or "competence" would
fill the bill sometimes. It does not seem to refer specifically to a
small or weak physique usually, in my of course limited experience.

-- Doug Wilson


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