Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

brunette · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

Hi everybody! I've been obsessed by the idiom "cover your ass" for quite some time, could anyone possibly explain it to me? Is it an insulting expression? Thanks a lot!

CP · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2875 Location: California

It means protect yourself. I think it comes from the military.

To take cover is to find someplace where you will be protected from hostile gunfire. You have to take cover, or cover yourself, to be safe in a fire fight (gun battle) or other dangerous situations.

People also use "your ass" to substitute for "yourself," although it is not an expression for polite company. "Get your ass in here" is a rude and blunt way to tell you to get in here. "Get your ass off the sofa" is a rude and blunt way to tell you to get off the furniture. So "cover your ass" is a rather crude way to say "cover yourself" or "protect yourself."

Nowadays, the expression is used to mean to protect yourself in any number of ways, not just in battle.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

brunette · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

Thank you so much, CP! Actually I've been to a few english forums asking the same question, but you are the only one who can explain it to me. Aren't you just great!
I am in China, and I like reading English essays. But there are always words and idioms you can't find in the dictionary, and sometimes they really freak me out. I hope there's an online dictionary which could help me with them. Do you know where I can find one?

Lorikeet · Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 1877 Location: San Francisco

Some Idiom/Slang Links:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/
http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jfowler/idiomchoices.html
http://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idioms_proverbs.html
http://www.wordpower.ws/idioms/a.html
http://www.manythings.org/slang/

CP · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2875 Location: California

Thanks, Lorikeet!
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

brunette · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

brunette · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

Well guys, I really need your help this time. I don't think it's possible for me to find an anwser in any dictionary or even encyclopidia. I heard from a lot of hollywood movies that when people feel disgusted, when something make them feel sick, they utter one sound. I don't know if it's "eel" but it sounds exactly like that word. Do you know what the hell is that word?

CP · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2875 Location: California

It's "Eew!", sort of a variation on "Ooh!". Also used in mock disgust, as when a high school girl says to her friends, "Eew! Look at her shoes! They are like totally gross!"

(The shoes might be brand new, and perfectly clean, but not quite the latest style. The girls are chewing gum. Some of them are texting each other on their cell phones at the same time.)

Actually sounds like this: "Eew! Look. At her. Shoes! They. Are like. Totally. Gross!"

"Eew!" can be a short sound or drawn out, "E-e-e-ew!"
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

brunette · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

I am so thankful for your detailed explanation, CP! So I guess I made a huge mistake by thinking American people feel sick at the sight of an eel. Laughing

So it should be pronounced as /i: ou/? or /i:u/?
Oh I just love this place!

Lorikeet · Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 1877 Location: San Francisco

Eew is pronounced /i:u/. The first part is the vowel in "he" and the second part is "you".

brunette · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 51