Semantics question (Jack Bog's Blog)

Detail, east Portland photo, courtesy Miles Hochstein / Portland Ground.

For old times' sake
The bojack bumper sticker -- only $1.50!

To order, click here.

Search this site

... or let Google look around our site -- including comments:

Custom Search

Excellent tunes -- free! And on your browser right now. Just click on Radio Bojack!

E-mail us here.

About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on November 27, 2007 4:46 PM. The previous post in this blog was How many bureaucrats does it take to sell out Parks?. The next post in this blog is Another extension for Water Bureau appraisal bid. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Clippings

E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

E-mail me

[What is this?]

« How many bureaucrats does it take to sell out Parks? | Main | Another extension for Water Bureau appraisal bid »

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Semantics question

Reading the internet lately has got me wondering: What's the difference between an a**clown and an a**hat? Is either of them the equivalent of an a**hole?

Posted at 4:46 PM | Permalink

Comments (16)

A**hole is a jerk, as you probably already know.

A**clown is an a**hole who makes an a** of himself in a way that can be amusing to observe (in a schadenfreude kind of way).

A**hat is somebody who has their head wedged firmly up their a**. They can be a**holes or a**clowns (or both). (Or neither.)

Hope this helps on the eve of NAWACOTID* #3.

*NAWACOTID.com will launch soon, and will feature a glossary of a** terms, and maybe even a Venn diagram.

Posted by Steve | November 27, 2007 4:59 PM

"ass" by itself isn't inherently vulgar. Neither is a hat, a clown or a hole. Combined with -hat or -clown, you still don't have a vulgar insult, but instead a rather silly one. Combined with -hole, you have something undeniably different than merely an "ass," and i think most agree it's a term that doesn't belong in civil discourse.

Posted by East Bank Thom | November 27, 2007 4:59 PM

A useful reference.

Posted by Tasteless Tattler | November 27, 2007 5:01 PM

Thanks, but I do think the Venn diagram would be helpful.

Posted by Jack Bog | November 27, 2007 5:03 PM

I'll send you an e-mail when NAWACOTID.com is launched. We'll be sure to feature the Venn diagram prominently.

Posted by Steve | November 27, 2007 5:21 PM

-
You get 5 for the clown, 7 for the hat, and 9 for the hole. On a 10-scale. If you want to get analogic digital about it, whatcha'call yer A-to-D conversion. 10 on the scale is merde, no suffix, simply sneeringly, 'a**.' 1 on the scale is also, 'a**' -- it depends on context.

Posted by Tenskwatawa | November 27, 2007 5:45 PM

'At's whatcha'get fer 'wondering.'

Posted by Tenskwatawa | November 27, 2007 5:46 PM

Leonard = a**hole
Adams = a**hole
Sten = a**clown
Potter = a**clown
Saltzman = a**hat

Posted by Original Steve | November 27, 2007 6:19 PM

Oh, dear -- I guess I should have known that was coming. Can one person be all three? I think Bush might hit the trifecta.

Posted by Jack Bog | November 27, 2007 6:22 PM

All five commies meet the trifecta concerning the ChavezFiasco.

Posted by lw | November 27, 2007 6:43 PM

"Commies?"

I feel as if I just stepped into a time warp.

Posted by Portlandia | November 27, 2007 10:21 PM

Sometimes, ya gotta call a spade a spade....and a time-warp term perhaps fits best.

Somehow, "socialists" just doesn't fit the bill for this lot as well as "commies" does.

Posted by Gerry Van Zandt | November 27, 2007 11:48 PM

There's even a song.

Posted by Garage Wine | November 28, 2007 6:15 AM

Synthesize them all and you end up with a dip-sh*t.

Posted by genop | November 28, 2007 8:51 AM

My take:

Leonard = a**hole
Adams = a**
Sten = a**wipe
Potter = dumba**
Saltzman = a**clown

Posted by cc | November 28, 2007 9:23 AM

I always thought of an asshat as a Toilet... I know that isnt what it is... but like the toilet is like a hat for your ass.

Just like when someone is 'yelling at the big white phone' = throwing up in the toilet.

LOL. Idk.

Posted by cpmcd2000 | November 29, 2007 10:11 AM

In Vino Veritas

Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007

The Occasional Book

Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269