Just wondering

[Wilson Gray]

For me, "That's your ass!" is a threat and a fairly serious one, at that.

"Say what, muthafucka?! Aww, shit! Thash yo' ass, now, nigga!"

Bystanders: "Awww, shit! Iss on, now! Somebody call de amba-lance 'fo'
iss too late!"

But, "Your ass" is usually used jokingly among friends, as when a
person is joned with and has no comeback:

A. "Man, y'all shoulda seen dat foxy thang dat I was brangin' P on, las' night!"

B. "Y'all, I done seen de bitch dis nigga tawm 'bout an' she so ugly
dat, when she look in da mirror, da mirra turn t' stone!"

A. "Aw, yo' ass, muthafucka!"

It can be used to back away from a threat, while things are still at
the wolfing stage and there's still time to escape and yet maintain a
semblance of one's cool:

A. ""Fuck wit' me, nigga, an' it ain't gon' be but two blows thrown:
me hittin' you an' you hittin' de flo'! You gon' git cho hayid shook,
yo' money took, an' yo' name put inta de undataka's book!"

B., turning away, mutters loudly: "Aw, yo' ass, muthafucka!"

Bystanders, to B: "Damn, man! You stan' fo' dat, you stoop fo' dis!"

B., walking away: "Fuck all (a) y'all!"

And it can also be used as merely a strong negative:

A. "Say, man, why don't you run up de street an' git me a forty?"

B. Yo' ass, muthafucka.

-Wilson

On 2/29/08, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  Poster:       Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
>  Subject:      Re: Just wondering
>  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  Wilson, that's your ass!
>
>  "That's your ass," shortened to "your ass,"  is not the equivalent to
>  "up yours" in my standard vernacular."Up yours" is a run-of-the mill
>  insult, comeback, etc.. (much like "fuck you"). "(That's) your ass"
>  is an indication that the speaker had lied, exaggerated, or perhaps
>  behaved (usually verbally) in some inappropriate or undesirable way
>  or has revealed something shocking or surprising, which could not
>  possibly evoke an "Up yours."
>
>  dInIs
>
>
>  >---------------------- Information from the mail header
>  >-----------------------
>  >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  >Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>  >Subject:      Just wondering
>  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  >
>  >Has anyone else besides me noticed that whites say, "Up yours!",
>  >whereas blacks say "Your ass!" (I'm assuming that "Up yours!" is also
>  >a clip of "[Fuck you] up your ass!")
>  >
>  >-Wilson
>  >--
>  >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>  >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>  >-----
>  >                                               -Sam'l Clemens
>  >
>  >------------------------------------------------------------
>  >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>  --
>  Dennis R. Preston
>  University Distinguished Professor
>  Department of English
>  Morrill Hall 15-C
>  Michigan State University
>  East Lansing, MI 48864 USA
>
>  ------------------------------------------------------------
>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org