[Ads-l] Euphemism?

Mon Oct 14 15:15:19 UTC 2019

So a "wise ass" was akin to a "pompous ass."

It may be purely contextual, but my impression is that John's 1890 "wise
ass" means something like 'a fool who thinks himself wise,' r while  the
current "wise-ass," means 'smart-aleck.'

I wonder how current "wise ass" was in comparison with "pompous ass."

JL

On Mon, Oct 14, 2019 at 11:02 AM Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com> wrote:

> 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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