Piss Off

English translation: make very angry; go away

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	Piss Off
Selected answer:	make very angry; go away
Entered by:	Fuad Yahya

20:20 Sep 12, 2003

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: Piss Off

Piss Off

dane

make very angry; go away

Explanation:
1. Make very angry, as in "That letter pissed me off." [Vulgar slang; 1940s]

2. Go away, as in "Piss off and stop bothering me." [Vulgar slang; mid-1900s]

Selected response from:

Fuad Yahya

Grading comment

Graded automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +23

make very angry; go away

Fuad Yahya

5 +14

Depends on the context

yolanda Speece

5 +4

Piss off! = Go away and leave me alone, stop bothering me!

Refugio

5 +3

I've said it before...

John Bowden

5 +1

annoy; anger; slightly stronger than "tick off"

Marian Greenfield

3 +2

skrub af

john mason

Answers

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): +23

make very angry; go away

Explanation:
1. Make very angry, as in "That letter pissed me off." [Vulgar slang; 1940s]

2. Go away, as in "Piss off and stop bothering me." [Vulgar slang; mid-1900s]

American Heritage Dictionary

Fuad Yahya
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Arabic,

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Graded automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Daniel Mencher

1 min

agree

J. Leo (X)

4 mins

agree

Kim Metzger: The second meaning is far more common in Britain than the US, I'd say.

5 mins

agree

Jirina Nevosadova

15 mins

agree

Gavin Bruce: You'll need to provide the sentence so we'll know whether it is the British or American sense.

27 mins

agree

Christopher Crockett: Yes, definitely different in U.K. & U.S. usage, as with being simply "pissed" --drunk in the U.K., very angry in the U.S. The U.S. meanings *might* be known in the U.K., but the U.K. ones are not in the U.S.

31 mins

agree

DGK T-I: Agree with Fuad & all the wise comments above

46 mins

agree

Mario Marcolin

49 mins

agree

NGK

52 mins

agree

RHELLER: yes Fuad :-) and wouldn't it be nice if askers posted sentences?

53 mins

agree

Alexandra Tussing

57 mins

agree

Paula Vaz-Carreiro: BOTH meanings are common in the UK.

2 hrs

agree

Will Matter

6 hrs

agree

Daniela McKeeby

8 hrs

agree

Catherine Christaki

11 hrs

agree

Marie Scarano

11 hrs

agree

David Moore (X): Yes, agree with Rita too; and I often find myself thinking "ouldn't it be nice if all ANSWERERS posted explanations", like here, and not just bald answers....

11 hrs

agree

Sarah Ponting

12 hrs

agree

awilliams

19 hrs

agree

Empty Whiskey Glass

23 hrs

agree

Rajan Chopra

1 day 17 hrs

agree

Patricia Baldwin

2 days 18 hrs

agree

AhmedAMS

6 days

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

piss off annoy; anger; slightly stronger than "tick off"

Explanation:
xx

Marian Greenfield
Local time: 06:33
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 44

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

skrub af

Explanation:
...if you are a Dane!

john mason
Local time: 12:33

15 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +14

piss off Depends on the context

Explanation:
If You say, "I don't want to piss off my boss".. It means you don't want to upset your boss or make him angry at you.

IF you say "piss off!" when someone makes you angry, then it is the equivalent of telling that person to "buzz off" or "sod off". Essentially you are telling them to go away and go keep themselves occupied with ..."themselves" and to leave you alone...

Hope this helps

But it also means to go away

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2003-09-12 20:36:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

DIsregard the last sentence

yolanda Speece
Local time: 05:33
Native speaker of:

English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Jirina Nevosadova

1 min

-> Thanks

agree

verbis

22 mins

-> Thanks

agree

Oso (X)

25 mins

-> Thanks

agree

Mario Marcolin: "to go away and.." That's interesting, I never thought of that! :)

40 mins

-> I didn't want to say how they occupied themselves but it starts with an "F".

agree

Alexandra Tussing

44 mins

-> Thanks

agree

Will Matter

6 hrs

agree

Edith Kelly

9 hrs

agree

Catherine Christaki

10 hrs

agree

jerrie: Just piss off! (Get lost, leave me alone). You're really starting to piss me off...(get on my nerves, wind me up etc) ... UK!

11 hrs

agree

Empty Whiskey Glass

22 hrs

agree

Pnina

1 day 13 hrs

agree

Rajan Chopra

1 day 17 hrs

agree

Kanta Rawat (X)

2 days 8 hrs

agree

AhmedAMS

6 days

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

Piss off! = Go away and leave me alone, stop bothering me!

Explanation:
There was a time when this was strong language, but now it could just express mild annoyance.

Refugio
Local time: 03:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 40

13 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

I've said it before...

Explanation:
but why do busy professionals bother wasting time on this kind of question? Hsn't it occurred to anybody that the Asker is just "taking the piss"??! And making us all look idiotic for being stupid enough to respond to what is obviously just an immature provocation...

John Bowden
Local time: 11:33
Native speaker of:

English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Grace Anderson

35 mins

-> Thanks Grace!

agree

Transflux (X): Absolutely agree. I expect the asker knows full well what it means.

2 hrs

-> I think so too!

disagree

Refugio: This might be true of some questions, but this one has various meanings and shades of acceptability that make it well worth answering. Since pissed can also mean drunk, the asker may have had a legitimate doubt about the meaning. And the name 'dane'...

5 hrs

-> "Dane" can be a name, not a nationality - I can't believe you really think this is a serious, legitimate question !

agree

awilliams: Sorry, Ruth, I'm with John here. Was just about to start moaning about a sixth answer, then saw your comment...That'll teach me!

6 hrs

-> Thanks Amy - if this question is "well worth answering", I'd love to see a worthless one!

agree

AhmedAMS: You are right. The question was supposed to be squashed.

6 days

-> Thanks!

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Piss Off

English translation: make very angry; go away

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Piss Off

English translation: make very angry; go away

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