ass over teakettle
1
9.9
- idiom
- Offensive
:
caer de culo
- Hell no, she said, it’s good old-fashioned chloral hydrate and it will knock your enemy ass over teakettle, guaranteed.
Examples
-
She slipped on the ice and went ass over teakettle, landing hard on her back.
-
One particular time when I was doing surveillance work, a lady fell down the stairs ass over teakettle.
Blog text (2) -
He flies off the deck, ass over teakettle.
Fiction book (1991) -
The skateboarder lost his balance and went ass over teakettle onto the pavement.
-
As he tripped over the curb, he ended up ass over teakettle in the flowerbed.
Synonyms
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
9.1
To lose your balance and land on your backside in an awkward or embarrassing way
To fall or sit down suddenly and hit your bottom
Antonyms
How Clumsy
- Offensive
1
9.9
219
2.2
129
1.6
∞
1.0
5
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to fall head over heels' cannot be derived from the literal parts: 'ass' (butt), 'over' and the odd image 'teakettle' do not compose a clear, systematic sense of tumbling. Although English has inversion patterns like 'head over heels', this playful/idiomatic phrasing and the marked, non-literal imagery make the expression unpredictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Ass over teakettle may come from the comic image of someone slipping so their ass (backside) flips over a small object like a teakettle, sending them head over heels. So it means 'to fall in a clumsy or uncontrolled way'.