Ass does not equal Arse
In the American War of Independence, Britain was violently booted out of the US. Violence was also perpetrated on The King’s English by changing the spelling, and meaning, of many English words. Now look you US peoples; Arse means that squishy thing that sits at the lower end of your back, and at the top of your legs. You know – the thing that makes sitting down more comfortable, and the thing that follows us wherever we go - like a faithful Labrador. It contains one orifice for the production of poop (coincidentally which Labradors also seem to do in abundance), which probably also produced the derogatory term, “Arsehole”.
Soooo, if one of you folks were to say, “I’m gonna pop a cap in yo ass”, or perhaps more simply, “I’m gonna kick your ass”, we on this side of The Pacific Ocean would take that as meaning you’re going to travel all the way to Australia, to my hypothetical farm, and kick my poor hypothetical donkey in his backside, or maybe put a bullet in his body somewhere. I won’t mind, but my donkey will be thoroughly pissed off. Since a donkey’s height is about the same as a US man’s groin, and cranky donkeys kick like, well... a mule (d’uh), your family jewels will be flatter than this morning’s flapjacks...and your children will be born bruised.
Hmm. I seem to have wandered off track here. Alexie Maxim Russell’s Field Guide to Assholes had a humorous (but misspelled) title, which got me in. Once in however, I found only a few laughs here and there. Having worked with the general public for the last 40 years, I guess I've seen it all before. It’s scary to think that we not only tolerate Arseholes – we even let them drive! So spotting them only involves a short drive to almost anywhere. And we don't really need a field guide to arseholes because usually, by the second grade, we are adept at identifying and avoiding them.