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Glite Dictionary
to save (someone's) ass

to save (someone's) ass

119 9.3
To help someone out of a dangerous or embarrassing situation at the last moment
  • idiom
  • /seɪv sʌmˌwʌnz æs/
  • Offensive
: salvar el culo (vulgar)
  • - You will know me for saving your ass.

Examples

Synonyms

to save
vsto save (someone's) ass
∞ 1.0

Rescue someone or something from danger

is narrower here, referring to urgent personal rescue rather than general protection
to rescue
vsto save (someone's) ass
689 1.0

Save someone or something from danger

is more informal and often implies last-moment personal help
to come to the rescue
vsto save (someone's) ass
22 3.4

Arrive to help someone who is in trouble

is used for sudden personal rescue rather than general assistance
to pull someone's bacon out of the fire
vsto save (someone's) ass
  • Informal
1 8.9

Save someone from a difficult situation at the last moment

is similar but is more neutral in tone rather than vivid slang
to come to one's rescue
vsto save (someone's) ass
1 3.1

To help someone who is in trouble or danger

focuses more on urgent personal rescue often at the final moment
to save someone's ass
vsto save (someone's) ass
  • Offensive
9.4

To help someone out of a dangerous or very bad situation at the last moment

is the same meaning but appears with parentheses in its written form

Antonyms

to abandon
607 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

to neglect
189 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Rescued

to save (someone's) ass
  • Offensive
119 9.3
to bail out
189 3.7
to rescue
689 1.0
to help out
  • Informal
319 1.0

Surface Forms

save (someone's) ass infinitive
saved (someone's) ass past
saved (someone's) ass past participle
saving (someone's) ass present participle
saves (someone's) ass third person singular

Morphology

save + (someone's) + ass

The verb 'save' clearly signals rescuing, so learners can partly infer a rescue meaning, but 'ass' is a vulgar body-part term used metonymically for a person which is not a literal object to be saved. Because understanding requires recognizing the slang/metonymic use and degree of vulgarity, the expression is only partially predictable to a B1 learner despite cross-linguistic equivalents like 'save one's skin'.

Etymology

Save someone's ass creates a rude picture: imagine someone in danger and a friend pulling them out by the ass to stop them from falling or getting hurt. So the phrase means 'to rescue someone from trouble', often at the last moment. It is an informal, rude way to say this.