Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Veravera]

Dear teachers,

1. They wouldn't know a good comic if it bit them in the ass.
what's the meaning of "bit them in the ass"?

2. I want to do something with an edge.
What does "with an edge" mean?

3. I thought you pulled an idea out of your ass.
What does that mean?

Thanks !

[redset]

1. If something 'bit you in the ass' (bit your bottom) you'd definitely notice it, right? The phrase means that even if you were paying attention to something, you wouldn't recognise it for what it is. If someone makes you look at a good comic and you don't realise that it's a good comic, you don't know anything about comics! There are lots of phrases like this, usually 'you wouldn't know whatever if it [did something to get your attention]'.

2. 'An edge' is usually sharp, like a knife edge, as opposed to being soft or dull. It implies something new, something slightly dangerous, or something slightly superior. If you want 'do something with an edge' you want to do something challenging or exciting, not something ordinary.

3. Pulling something out of your ass means producing something right at that moment, usually meaning you haven't thought about it properly or that it might be untrue. If I asked you for an idea and you pulled one out of your ass, you'd have thought of it really quickly and it might be a really bad idea because you didn't have time to think about it. If you tell someone a fact and they say you pulled it out of your ass, they're saying that you just made it up!