know one's ass from a hole in the ground
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Verb
[edit]know one's ass from a hole in the ground (third-person singular simple present knows one's ass from a hole in the ground, present participle knowing one's ass from a hole in the ground, simple past knew one's ass from a hole in the ground, past participle known one's ass from a hole in the ground)
- (idiomatic, vulgar) To have an adequate level of knowledge or skill; to understand what one is doing or talking about.
- 2004, David Drake, The Reaches[1], →ISBN:
- "Why are you so sure and they aren't?" the landsman said. . . .
"Because Mr. Ricimer knows his ass from a hole in the ground, sir."
- 2005 June 12, Gary M. Pomerantz, “First Chapter: Wilt, 1962”, in New York Times, retrieved 26 July 2014:
- Foxx gave a comic's pause. "Just goes to show you, don't it? Some folks don't know their ass from a hole in the ground."
- 2006 December 5, David Kiley, Chrysler "Whoops" Ads Part of Important New Genre[2], Bloomberg, retrieved 23 September 2016:
- In the unofficial ad, the facilitator says about the man whose wife will be replaced, “This guy wouldn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.”
Usage notes
[edit]- Almost always used in negative constructions to describe someone's ignorance or stupidity, such as: He doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.
Synonyms
[edit]- find one's ass with both hands and a flashlight
- (archaic) know B from a battledore
- know one's ass from one's elbow
- know one's head from a hole in the ground
- know one's head from one's ass
- know shit from Shinola
- know what one is about
- know which end is up
Antonyms
[edit]- See know one's stuff
Related terms
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