head up one's ass
2
9.9
- idiom
- Offensive
:
tener la cabeza metida en el culo
- He always thinks he's right, but sometimes he really has his head up his ass.
Examples
-
And Karl Rove's meltdown is explainable by the fact he couldn't handle the fact he was wrong and had his head up his ass.
Blog text (28) -
I guess it is hard to read with his head up his ass.
Blog text (10) -
Especially for a kid heading to law school with his head up his ass if he thinks this is the way to raise tuition.
Fiction book (1999) -
A girl like that is up to no good, I tell you, and Ned's going to end up with his head up his ass.
Fiction book (2002) -
We say he has his head up his ass when it comes to how to be a true American president, and that is somehow hate speech.
Blog text (6) -
Pat Condell says it well: Michael Bloomberg has his head up his ass.
Blog text (17) -
It strongly suggests that the newbie making wild, evidenceless assertions has her head up her ass, though.
Blog text (19) -
Don't bother asking him about the job issues; he's got his head up his ass and doesn't realize what's going on.
-
It's frustrating to talk to someone who has his head up his ass about climate change and ignores the science.
Antonyms
How Aware
- Informal
4
7.7
2
5.9
- Informal
1
7.2
- Offensive
2
9.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase creates a coarse spatial metaphor using familiar words ('head', 'ass', 'up') so a learner who knows the constituents can roughly infer a sense of being misplaced, oblivious, or mentally 'out of touch'. However, the precise pragmatic meaning and vulgar, culture-specific force of the idiom are not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Head up one's ass comes from the blunt image of someone with their head literally up their ass, so they cannot see or notice what is happening around them. That's why it is used to call someone 'unaware' or 'out of touch'.