to fall on one's arse
1
9.1
- idiom
- Vulgar
:
caer de culo
- During the game, she tripped over her shoelaces and fell on her arse in front of everyone.
Examples
-
Okay, if it stops you from falling on your arse, you can carry some of my bags
-
Just try and look as if it's normal practice for you to fall on your arses all the time.
-
He stumbled on the icy sidewalk and fell on his arse with a loud thud.
-
While trying to impress his friends, he lost his balance and unexpectedly fell on his arse.
Synonyms
250
1.0
Suddenly move from a standing position to the ground or a lower level
67
1.0
To lose your balance or stop being steady and end up on the ground
1
6.8
To stumble or fall because you are clumsy
1
9.9
To fall in a clumsy way and land head over heels
1
9.9
To fall and turn over in a sudden, clumsy way
To fall or sit down suddenly and hit your bottom
Antonyms
How Awkward
579
3.9
- Vulgar
1
9.1
67
1.0
219
2.2
129
1.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a direct, literal composition of 'fall' + 'on' + 'one's' + 'arse' (i.e., to fall onto one's buttocks), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the sense. It is colloquial/vulgar in register but morphologically and semantically transparent and follows a common motion + location pattern found cross-linguistically.
Etymology
Fall on one's arse comes from the picture of someone slipping and falling straight onto their arse, landing on their backside and feeling embarrassed. So, the phrase means 'to fall down in an awkward or embarrassing way'.