What's an Asshat?
The name "asshat" people sometimes call each other keeps popping up. Today, I asked myself, what is an asshat? I know its supposed to be a disparagement, I think I've used it myself. But it really doesn't make sense. Is it supposed to be that the person is actually a hat you wear on your ass? Is it that the person's ass is a hat, and other people put it on? Is it that the person likes to wear other people's asses as hats? Shouldn't the insult be then "asshat wearer"?
I'm so confused. This page, "Asshat: The Official Site", while amusing, doesn't enlighten. Neither does the Wikipedia entry.
Update:
This entry from the Urban Dictionary explains it most cleary:
One who has their head up their ass. Thus wearing their ass as a hat. Asshat
Posted September 8, 2005 11:51 AM
Comments
I used to use asshat to describe the way someone was wearing their boss -- as in they're kissing so much ass, their head is up the boss' ass.
In general, the more common usage makes no sense.
Thom Rosario, September 8, 2005 1:34 PM
What's not clear with the wikipedia description:
"...graphically describing someone who has his "head up his ass" (i.e., not knowing what's going on), or a variation of "butthead." In the former sense, it is suggested that one is "wearing one's ass for a hat", or alternately, "a hat for one's ass."
Dude, September 8, 2005 3:23 PM
I have absolutely no evidence for this, but I've often thought that it originated as "ass@".
Richard Schwartz, September 8, 2005 3:26 PM
Dude! Lol, You just added that to the wikipedia, didn't you? Ok, I guess I just missed it.
Damien, September 8, 2005 3:39 PM
I think Julian R. may know the definition :-) He is the owner of AssTools.com
Bruce Elgort, September 8, 2005 6:43 PM
i like the "as shat" parsing m'self...
http://captainoblivious.com/rob_mcdonagh/home.nsf/plinks/FDOZ-64CHKG
If you squint just right, asshat could be a contraction of "as shat", such as "Here are my thoughts, asshat out of my narrow little mind."
jonvon, September 12, 2005 12:49 PM
The derivation of the term "asshat" is from the online gaming community. Some years ago, when EverQuest was in beta (especially on the player vrs player servers) you could kill other players and camp them to prevent recovery of their goods. The ultimate insult was to sit down on their head and be annoying about the entire thing. Folks who died did't particularyly like that.
Hence, asshat.
Time moves forward and many folks moved on to Dark Age of Camelot. Again you could sit on folks heads after you did them wrong. By this time, explanations were unnecessary as asshat was in the common lexicon and the sitting activities were intentional insults.
Drew
Drew Pritsker, September 12, 2005 5:46 PM
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