sad ass
- noun
- /sæd æs/
- Offensive
- She felt like a real sad ass after getting rejected.
Examples
-
Don't be such a sad ass!
-
Stop being such a sad ass and try to enjoy yourself.
-
His friends called him a sad ass for moping around all day.
-
He feels like a sad ass after losing his job.
-
He felt like such a sad ass after losing that important game.
-
After her friends canceled their plans, she couldn't help but feel like a sad ass all weekend.
-
When he sat alone at the party, he thought to himself, "What a sad ass I am."
Antonyms
How Sad
- Specialized
- Offensive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is built from 'sad' (pitiful) plus the derogatory 'ass', so a learner who knows both words will likely infer a negative, contemptuous sense (e.g. 'pathetic' or 'lame'). However, the specific colloquial use as an intensifying pejorative before a noun and the pragmatic/vulgar nuance are not fully predictable from the parts alone, making the expression only partially transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Sad ass (noun) comes from joining sad and ass, where ass is a rude word for a foolish or annoying person. The image of an unhappy fool is why people use it to call someone 'pathetic' or 'dejected'.