Don't give (or get off your) rat's ass/arse/horse

[Jonathan Lighter]

During WWII, at least at Parris Island, calisthenics were evidently called
"mass grab-ass"; the synonymous "organized grab-ass" is recorded in the
'50s, but probably dates back to the same period.

_Grab-ass_, v., is in HDAS from the '50s with attributions to WWII.

A good time to remind lurking whippersnappers that before the '60s - and
especially before ca1950 - even such harmless butt-related terms were rarely
seen in print.

Including _butt_, though that was probably the least taboo after (U.S.)
_fanny_ and the now for-some-reason-uncommon _duff_.

JL

On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 11:41 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Don't give (or get off your) rat's ass/arse/horse
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> > And one has (the OED do have) "grab-assing around". Â "N. Amer. slang
> > (orig. Mil.). Â  intr. To engage in horseplay; to fool around. Also
> > with around." Â First quote 1957.
> >
>
> It probably depends upon one's individual experience. IME, people were
> still using "(the) grab-ass" - as in "Cut the grab-ass!" by NCO's to
> troops who have failed to heed completely the command, "At ease!" -
> and "grabbing ass," as well as "grab-assing," into the early '60's.
> Never heard "grab-assing _around_" at all.
>
> Of course, it may be the case that you know this, but didn't feel that
> it was needed to make your point. Well, I have to concede that.
>
> --
> -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.
> –Mark Twain
>
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