1. British the backside, buttocks, anus.

This word is not, strictly speaking, slang, but an ancient term (aers in Anglo- Saxon, descended from Germanic nouns related to an Indo-European ancestor meaning 'tail') which, since the 17th cen-

tury, has been considered too vulgar for polite conversation. Australia follows the British spelling, while in the USA and Canada the word is spelled ass.

2. British a foolish or contemptible per- son. A fairly mild term of exasperated contempt, popular in upper- and middle- class speech until the 1960s, now generally replaced by stronger or more colourful alternatives. 'Silly arse!' was a favourite British rebuke.

3a. British courage, nerve or cheek. This has been a popular working-class usage in London and Australian slang. In Britain it has, since the 1960s, largely been sup- planted by more colourful terms such as 'arris or bottle, which are derived from it,

or by synonyms such as balls.

3b. Australian good luck. This usage, which is more commonly expressed by the adjective arsy, probably derives from the previous sense, with the implication that the good fortune came as a result of daring or impudence.

4. Australian a synonym for heave-ho, elbow or 'the boot', usually in the expression give (someone) the arse

5. my arse! British 'Nonsense!', 'I don't believe it!' or 'It's not true!' An exclamation of angry or impatient disbelief, dating at least from the 18th century. It is probably a shortening of a longer phrase such as in the following sense.

6. kiss my arse! British an exclamation of defiance or contempt

7. not to know one's arse from one's elbow/a hole in the ground British to be incapable or incompetent, stupid

8. the sun shines out of his/her arse Brit- ish he or she is wonderful, perfect or the favourite. The expression is used contemptuously or enviously of a person who, in their own opinion or that of others, can do no wrong.