arse
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.a person who is very annoying, stupid, or mean.
n.a derogatory term for a person perceived as stupid, arrogant, or contemptible.
Simple“Don't be such an arse and just help me with these bags.”
In context“He made a complete arse of himself by shouting at the waiter in front of the entire restaurant.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to waste time or behave in a silly way.
v.to behave in a foolish or irresponsible manner; almost always used with 'about' or 'around'.
Simple“Stop arsing about and finish your homework before dinner.”
In context“The team spent the whole afternoon arsing around instead of preparing the presentation for the morning meeting.”
UsageUsually appears as the phrasal verb 'arse about' or 'arse around'.
Synonymsmess aroundfool around
“I suppose if I were Today’s editor, the phrase “pain in the arse” might come to mind.”
From Middle English ars, ers, from Old English ærs, ears, from Proto-West Germanic ars, from Proto-Germanic arsaz (compare Dutch aars and German Arsch), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁órsos (“backside, buttocks”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.