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Chris -- 2018-04-11
“I can’t be arsed” is an idiomatic expression that has nothing to do with the arse, despite some eggcornical claims to the contrary. Its very opaqueness may explain the large number of folks who think, innocently, that one hasn’t the right to even ask them, given their apathy and irritability. Here’s a second-person account:
This reminds me of my step-brother who was only recently informed (by me) that the phrase is ‘I can’t be arsed’ and not, as he’d thought, ‘I can’t be asked.’ Apparently he used to say it to his teachers and everything. Douche.
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boa … al/4266817
A couple of entries on the English Usage Stack Exchange wonder which acorn is which:
Where does “can’t be arsed†come from? I’ve only heard it from Kiwis, but I am told it’s used in other countries as well: “I can’t be arsed” means (IIUC) “I can’t be bothered”. Where could the expression come from? It’s the only expression I know of that uses “arse” as a verb—assuming that is the correct spelling. Is it from “arse” (British English for “ass”) or some weird mangling of “ask” or something even stranger?
Can’t be arsed doesn’t show up in print until the mid-80s, though the stack exchange claims it was used by Paul McCartney in the 60s.
Plenty of apparent hits out there:
I’ve checked Auto Text feature on MSO Word and to be completely honest I can’t be asked to go through that process. That it’s simply not what I’m looking for.
Computer advice
If you actually knew what I meant by this whole topic. You wouldn’t be making that assumption. I can’t be asked to re-explain what I mean.
gamers
I can’t be asked to care anymore honestly. If it happens cool. If not cool.
game hype
There’s probably a dev quote about passive radar but I can’t be asked to find it right now.
yet another tired gamer
I allready gave reasons why I thought the chance of him soloing was there, I can’t be asked to type it again
yet one more gamer
There is a pattern particular to non-arsers, of the form “can’t be arsed Xing.” I think instances of “can’t be asked Xing”, which are rife, are def eggcorns.
solve your own stupid problems I’m sick and tired of doing it for you! (can’t be asked doing any revision)
https://twitter.com/fwaagh/status/343637112962310144
to see what I mean (or if you can’t be asked reading), I created a video
http://vim.1045645.n5.nabble.com/Possib … 17799.html
I got so fed up i just said “do it i can’t be asked driving around from dealer to dealer”
http://www.mytreg.com/index.php?/topic/ … -problems/
Last edited by David Bird (2015-02-08 12:33:16)
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“Arsing about,” meaning messing around, not doing much in particular, is older than “can’t be arsed.” It’s in Joyce’s Ulysses, for example. The phrase took off in the 1940s, mostly in AmEng. I suspect that “can’t be arsed” is a riff on this sense of “arse.” “Can’t be arsed” suggests that what someone is proposing isn’t even worth an investment of idle hours. Sort of like “can’t be bothered.”
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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I thought this looked familiar – it is in the Database already. (Only the second time in many months I’ve managed to get to the forum – despite changing address and ISP I’m still being blocked by virus warnings.)
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