Ass

[avram]

As long as I’m posting excessively, there’s something that’s been bugging me for a while. I’ve noticed some folks using the word “ass” the way that me and my cohort generally use the words “shit” or “crap”. “That sucks ass.” “It looked like ass.” What’s up with that? I think the people I’ve seen using it have all been Seattleites, so is this a northwestern usage? Wait, actually I’ve also heard “sucks ass” on South Park, I assumed because there are language rules for basic cable (though South Park violated those rules flagrantly in one episode, so I dunno). Is this something recent? What’s the earliest usage anyone here remembers?