whoop-ass attitude
- noun
- /ˈhuːpˌæs ˈætɪtjuːd/
- Offensive
:
[vulgar] actitud agresiva y desafiante
- He walked into the meeting with a whoop-ass attitude that intimidated his competitors.
Examples
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His whoop-ass attitude helped him win the debate.
-
She approached the challenge with a whoop-ass attitude!
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Her whoop-ass attitude inspired her teammates to push harder than ever before.
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Their whoop-ass attitude made a real difference during the high-stakes negotiation.
-
He walked into the meeting with a whoop-ass attitude that intimidated his competitors.
-
Her whoop-ass attitude inspired her teammates to push harder than ever before.
-
Their whoop-ass attitude made a real difference during the high-stakes negotiation.
Synonyms
A bold, rude way of behaving that upsets people
Antonyms
How Aggressive
5
7.9
12
4.6
- Offensive
73
2.7
8
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
whoop-ass + attitude
The key element 'whoop-ass' is slang/vulgar and idiomatic (meaning roughly a readiness to beat or confront someone) rather than a transparent combination of known words; this sense is not predictable from literal meanings and is non-standard. Even though 'attitude' is transparent, a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer the slang, aggressive meaning, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Whoop-ass attitude comes from the rough image of whoop-ass, a slang phrase meaning 'to beat someone', joined with attitude, which means how someone acts. So it describes being openly aggressive and ready to take strong action.