shit! (coarse exclamation of annoyance or disgust)

[Robin Hamilton]

From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>

> "Not give a rat's ass" is not uncommon in semi-autobiographical fiction
> about World War II. One of the earliest novels to include it is Leon
> Uris's
> _Battle Cry_ (1950-52, pub. 1953).
>
> JL

Is "rat's ass" present apart from the collocation, "Not give a rat's ass"?

As a better example of a non-commutative arse, how about "arsing around", as
in "Stop arsing around."  Somehow, I can't get my ear around, "Stop assing
around.")

Robin

> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 3:38 PM, Robin Hamilton <
> robin.hamilton3 at virginmedia.com> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Robin Hamilton <robin.hamilton3 at VIRGINMEDIA.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: shit! (coarse exclamation of annoyance or disgust)
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
>>
>> From: "Paul Frank" <paulfrank at POST.HARVARD.EDU>
>>
>> > On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 7:57 PM, Robin Hamilton
>> > <robin.hamilton3 at virginmedia.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> ... although "shite" and "shit", while closely related, aren't
>> >> strictl=
> y
>> >> commutative. =C2 (As is also the case with the distinction between
>> >> "as=
> s"
>> >> and
>> >> "arse" -- thus, UK "a rat's arse," but no corresponding USA locution,
>> >> =
> "a
>> >> rat's ass", if I have this right.)
>> >
>> > If I'd had to guess, I would have said that "a rat's arse" came from
>> > "a rat's ass." "I don't give a rat's ass" is certainly extremely
>> > common in American English.
>> >
>> > Paul
>>
>> Called that one wrong, didn't I?  I'll see if I can come up with some
>> better
>> examples of the non-commutative aspect of shit/shite.  Other than the
>> obvious, that "ass" is characteristically USAmerican and "arse" UK.
>>
>> As to rats and their arses, or asses, there's the term coined by or used
>> =
> by
>> the comedian Tony Hancock, "ratbag", which in turn may be a minced from
>> o=
> f
>> "scumbag."
>>
>> Further than that, deponent stateth not.
>>
>> Robin
>>
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>
>
>
> --=20
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
>
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