ass in a sling
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.33 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An uncomfortable personal state of affairs involving injury, defeat, or other trouble, especially a state of affairs resulting from one's own ill-considered actions.
Canadian usage; American usage; Informal; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I see our asses in a sling if we get caught, that's what I see."
- "Dempsey briefed senior HUD officials on federal ethics rules in early 1981, he said, "and most of those who later got their ass in a sling sat there and ignored it.""
- "I think that kind of breathless egotism deserves little more than to limp home with its arse in a sling."
- "[T]he bullpen's continued ineffectiveness has to fall on John Mozeliak. . . . If it ends up with Johnny Mo's ass in a sling, so be it."
- "[Frank Sinatra] asked me what I was doing. I said, "The usual. Making pictures. You?" He said, "The usual. Getting my ass in a sling.""
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- Informal
- Uncountable