to sit on one's ass
2
9.9
- idiom
- Offensive
:
no dar un palo al agua
- Instead of working on his project, he chose to sit on his ass and scroll through social media.
Examples
-
So what do you expect me to do, sit on my ass and wait for you to save the day?
-
What do you think you're paid for, to sit on your ass?
-
You get paid to dance, not to sit on your ass drinking.
-
How long do you think you can sit on your ass and watch the sun set?
-
I think he can figure out how to sit on his ass and watch TV all day.
-
Frank, you still spent the next 15 years of your life sitting on your ass watching television.
-
Private school kids hate to get their hands dirty, so I basically sit on my ass all day.
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I've been sitting on my ass long enough.
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I mean, do you think I like sitting on my ass waiting for you clowns?
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Instead, he chooses to sit on his ass and talk about what twits we are.
Blog text (10)
Synonyms
888
1.5
Spend time without any activity
350
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
103
3.5
To do nothing when you should help
43
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
12
8.1
Not do anything when action is needed
7
6.2
To spend time doing little or nothing instead of working
3
7.9
Spend time doing very little or nothing
2
7.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
2
8.6
To spend time doing very little and moving around without plans
2
7.9
To waste time and effort without making progress
1
7.7
To spend time doing nothing and not working
1
7.4
To do nothing when someone should act
1
6.5
To spend time doing nothing in a lazy way
1
9.9
To waste time doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
1
9.9
To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To waste time instead of working
Spend time or money on unimportant things
To delay doing something because you do not want to do it
To behave lazily and avoid work or responsibility
To waste time instead of working
Antonyms
How Lazy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'sit' + 'on' + 'one's' + 'ass' — to sit on one's buttocks — which directly conveys being inactive or doing nothing, so a B1 learner who knows the words can infer the idiomatic meaning of laziness or inaction. The expression's vulgar register does not obscure its compositional meaning, and similar literal-to-idiomatic mappings exist cross-linguistically, making the sense predictable from the parts.
Etymology
The idiom sit on one's ass paints a clear picture: someone literally sitting on their ass and not moving. That's why it means 'to be inactive or lazy' instead of working or helping.