to pull out of one's ass
- phrasal verb
- /pʊl aʊt ʌv wʌnz æs/
- Offensive
- When did you pull that statement out of your ass?
- pull your head out of your ass
There is none of the pulling out of one's ass that is rampant in the podcast space when it comes to debates.
- There is none of the pulling out of one's ass that is rampant in the podcast space when it comes to debates.
Examples
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And it's clearly something this Daimaou pulled out of his ass!
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And if there was one of you guys who had an original idea, you'd be so tight you couldn't even pull it out of your ass!
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Just makes it up or pulls it out of his ass.
Blog text (30) -
After he pulled his head out of his ass, he said he would go to counseling to work on this and our other issues.
Blog text (30) -
There is none of the pulling out of one's ass that is rampant in the podcast space when it comes to debates.
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I agree with the poster (EJ?) who said they pulled this ending "out of their ass."
Blog text (18) -
Anwen, it wouldn't be surprising at all if they just pulled numbers out of their asses.
Blog text (30) -
If the people in this country don't pull their heads out of their asses real soon, we won't be living in a democracy but in a plutocracy; they'll own us too.
Blog text (23) -
Did you really just pull that idea out of your ass without any proof?
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It seems like he pulled that fact out of his ass without checking any sources.
Synonyms
Invent a story or excuse that is not true
Make up a story or excuse to trick people
Make up ideas quickly without preparing or checking facts
Make up something without thinking or good reason
Produce a surprising idea that solves a difficult problem
To invent a story or excuse that is not true
How Credible
- Offensive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally evokes 'pull out' (produce/remove) plus a vulgar source 'one's ass', so an intermediate learner who knows the words may guess it means to produce something suddenly or from nowhere. However the specific sense 'to invent without basis or justification' and the pragmatic nuance (vulgarity, deception, implausibility) are idiomatic and culture-specific, so the exact meaning and register are not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Pull out of one's ass gives a rude picture: as if someone reached into their ass and pulled out an answer or idea that had no real source. That image shows making things up with no proof, so the phrase means 'to invent something without any basis'.