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Glite Dictionary
to quarter-ass

to quarter-ass

9.9
To do something with little effort or care
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈkwɔrtərˌæs/
  • Offensive
translation icon : hacer algo como el culo
  • You can't just quarter-ass your assignments and expect to get good grades.

Examples

  • The team was warned not to quarter-ass the final presentation.

  • Don't quarter-ass your work!

  • He tends to quarter-ass things he doesn't care about.

  • She always quarter-asses her assignments.

  • You can't just quarter-ass your assignments and expect to get good grades.

  • The team was warned not to quarter-ass the final presentation.

  • He tends to quarter-ass things he doesn't care about.

Synonyms

to mail it in
vsto quarter-ass
  • Informal
1 8.7

To do work with little effort or interest when more is expected

applies broadly to doing things with very little effort regardless of expectations
to piss about
vsto quarter-ass
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To waste time by behaving in a silly or unproductive way instead of working

means doing things with little effort rather than wasting time playfully
to do by halves
vsto quarter-ass
  • UK
8.5

Work without full effort and leave tasks half finished

focuses more on lack of effort rather than incomplete work

How Much Effort

to cut corners
  • Informal
23 3.8
to quarter-ass
  • Offensive
9.9

Surface Forms

quarter-ass infinitive
quarter-assed past
quarter-assed past participle
quarter-assing present participle
quarter-ass third person singular

Morphology

quarter-ass = quarter + ass (semi-transparent) = quarter + ass

The components 'quarter' + 'ass' signal a reduced or minimal amount by analogy with slang like 'half-ass(ed)', but understanding relies on familiarity with that idiom rather than purely compositional logic.

Etymology

Quarter-ass builds on the joking phrase half-ass, where 'half' means 'partly' and the phrase means doing something without full effort, and quarter makes that idea even smaller. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine doing only 'one quarter' of the work. So, to quarter-ass something is to do it with very little effort or in a half-hearted way.