[Ads-l] Euphemism?

Mon Oct 14 15:02:49 UTC 2019

Although it may be true that the 1890 writer in Salt Lake City was thinking of a donkey, while the 1951 prison psychologist was thinking of buttocks, I can’t help noticing that it certainly looks like the same word and seems to have the same meaning.  As a minimum, to the extent that modern “wise-ass” built on a preexisting practice of referring to smart-alecky donkeys, it’s part of the history of the word.

John Baker

From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Ben Zimmer
Sent: Monday, October 14, 2019 10:43 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Euphemism?

As Garson suggested upthread, earlier examples of "wise ass" (as those
given by John Baker) use "ass" in the sense of "donkey." I think JL's
excellent 1951 example is still the earliest in the modern sense, where the
anatomical sense of "ass" is implied. I did a search on an edition of "My
Six Convicts" on Google Books and found the quote in snippet view, but I
see it's actually "Let this wise-ass ham hang hisself" (not "himself").

https://books.google.com/books?id=WoDaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22wise+ass%22<https://books.google.com/books?id=WoDaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22wise+ass%22>

Of related interest: I wrote a post earlier this year for the Strong
Language blog on "stupid-ass" (as used in the 1967 song "Jackie" performed
by the late Scott Walker):

https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/a-cute-cute-in-a-stupid-ass-way/<https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/a-cute-cute-in-a-stupid-ass-way/>

Relevant bits:

-----
In American English, _ass_ for "donkey" and _arse_ for "buttocks" merged
historically into the single word _ass_, and confusion over this ambiguity
has reigned ever since. Calling someone "a stupid ass," for instance, would
be relatively tame under the "donkey" reading of _ass_, but as the
equivalent of British _arse_ it would be much more vulgar. _Asshole_ of
course dispels with the ambiguity, as that can only be understood
anatomically. [...]
It strikes me that at least early on, the adjectival use of _dumb-ass_ and
_stupid-ass_ had a kind of strategic ambiguity. Because "dumb" and "stupid"
are qualities associated with donkeys, the "donkey" meaning of _ass_ could
have been foremost in many people's minds. But for those in the know,
especially those familiar with African-American slang, it would have had
more of a connection to the anatomical sense. (That connection would have
been undeniable in the written form _dumb-assed_ or _stupid-assed_; it's
been argued that the _-ass_ suffix arose out of a dialectal pronunciation
of _-assed_ that dropped the final /t/ sound.)
-----

--bgz

On Mon, Oct 14, 2019 at 10:22 AM Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com<mailto:JBAKER at stradley.com>> wrote:

> There are a couple of earlier examples from the (Salt Lake City) Daily
> Tribune (NewspaperArchive), probably both from the same writer, and both
> addressing free silver.
>
> April 19, 1890: “If a railroad company were to send out a train with only
> lubricating oil enough to keep the boxes of the passenger cars cool,
> leaving none for the locomotive, baggage and express cars, and then when
> the train came to a standstill because of hot boxes, were some wise ass to
> say: To supply oil which will enable the locomotive to run, it will jump
> the track and smash things.” He would occupy exactly the same position that
> the goldito occupies to-day, and he would be just as wise as is the Senator
> or Representative or Secretary of the Treasury, who wants to hedge the
> silver bill around with objections which will destroy its usefulness.”
>
> May 22, 1890, after quoting an article from the New York Evening Post:
> “This same wise ass goes on to say, “There is no reason why the currency of
> the country should not be enlarged,” but adds, “but why must silver be
> singled out and stored by the hundreds of tons as a basis of currency when
> a better currency with less complication and less cost could be furnished
> with legal tender notes issued by the govern?””
>
> There are also references to a “wise ass” in the 1604 play Westward Ho, by
> Thomas Dekker and John Webster, but it seems to have a different meaning
> there.
>
>
> John Baker
>
>
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>> On Behalf Of
> Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Monday, October 14, 2019 7:57 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Euphemism?
>
> External Email - Think Before You Click
>
>
> Earliest:
>
> 1951 Donald Powell Wilson _My Six Convicts_ (N.Y.: Rinehart) 45 [ref. to
> 1933]: Let this wise-ass ham hang himself.
>
> Dr. Wilson's book is a semi-fictionalized account of his time as a prison
> psychologist at Ft. Leavenworth in the '30s.
>
> JL
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 14, 2019 at 12:24 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com<mailto:adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com<mailto:adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com%3cmailto:adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>>> wrote:
>
> > Ben Zimmer wrote:
> > > Try hyphenating. OED2 has "wise-ass" from 1971 (Current Slang, Univ. S.
> > > Dakota), and also "wise-assed" from 1967 (Tamony's "Americanisms").
> > Green's
> > > Dictionary of Slang, meanwhile, has "wise-ass" from 1961 and
> > "wise-assed"
> > > from 1960.
> > >
> > > https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/p7oyyzi<https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/p7oyyzi><
> https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/p7oyyzi<https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/p7oyyzi>>
> > > https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/laf3gkq<https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/laf3gkq><
> https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/laf3gkq<https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/laf3gkq>>
> >
> > There are early matches in which a "wise ass" refers to a donkey. Here
> > is a snippet match for "wise ass" with the modern sense that is
> > probably from 1959.
> >
> > Year: 1959 (According to GB)
> > Book Title: Let Me Be Awake
> > Author: Stuart Mitchner
> > Publisher: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York
> > Database: Google Books Snippet; data may be inaccurate; should be
> > verified with hardcopy. Probe for 1959 show "Copyright 1959" in a
> > snippet.
> >
> > [Begin extracted text - GB page 127]
> > “A wise-ass! We've got a goddam wise-ass! I hate wise-asses, Reed, and
> > you're the biggest wise-ass in this whole green-ass lousy pledge
> > class!” A pledge laughed and was immediately shouted down. “Funny,
> > Bailey? Laughing at your own ...
> > [End extracted text]
> >
> > Search for "1959" displays a snippet suggesting that the year is
> accurate.
> >
> > [Begin snippet text]
> > Copyright (c) 1959 by Stuart Mitchner
> > All Rights reserved, No Part of This Book May
> > [End snippet text]
> >
> > Here is a match in 1960 that is fully visible in HathiTrust. The
> > excerpt seems to be a war scenario and "Nips" are mentioned which
> > suggests the WWII time period, but the slang presented by the author
> > might be anachronistic
> >
> > Year: 1960 Copyright
> > Book Title: Do Not Go Gentle
> > Author: David MacCuish
> > Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York
> >
> > https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725<https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725><
> https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725<https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725>>
> > https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725?urlappend=%3Bseq=233<https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725?urlappend=%3Bseq=233><
> https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725?urlappend=%3Bseq=233<https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015030760725?urlappend=%3Bseq=233>>
> >
> > [Begin excerpt from page 226 and 227]
> > Hudge grunted a laugh that dissolved into silence as the bleak eyes of
> > Larko hit him. "You got a feather up your ass, Hudgins?"
> > "Only salt water, Sarge. I was jus' thinkin'—"
> > "Stow it! Yer not paid ta think."
> > Hudge rapped his helmet with the knuckles of a dirty hand.
> > "Pardon, commander. My head gets in the way sometimes."
> > "The Nips have a cure for that, wise ass!"
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
>

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