SPL Princess Anastasia in Stockholm Harbour
Career
Name:	1986–1993: Olympia 1993–2010: Pride of Bilbao Oct to Dec 2010: Bilbao Dec 2010 onwards: Princess Anastasia
Owner:	1986–1993: Rederi AB Slite 1993–2010: Irish Continental Group[1] 2010 onwards: St Peter Line
Operator:	1986–1993: Rederi AB Slite (in Viking Line traffic) 1993–2010: P&O Ferries[1] 2010 onwards: St. Peter Line
Port of registry:	1986–1993: Slite,  Sweden 1993–1994: Nassau,  Bahamas 1994–2008: Portsmouth,  United Kingdom[1] Oct to Dec 2010: Nassau,  Bahamas Dec 2010-2011: Cyprus, [2] Mar 2011 onwards: Valletta,
Route:	St Petersburg to Stockholm
Builder:	Wärtsilä Turku, Finland[1]
Yard number:	1290[1]
Launched:	31 August 1985[1]
Acquired:	26 April 1986[1]
In service:	29 April 1986[1]
Identification:	IMO number: 8414582[1]
Status:	In Service
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Class and type:	Mariella-class cruiseferry
Tonnage:	37,799 GT 3,420 DWT
Length:	177.10 m (581 ft 0 in)
Beam:	28.40 m (93 ft 2 in)
Draught:	6.51 m (21 ft 4 in)
Decks:	11[3]
Installed power:	4 × Wärtsilä-SEMT Pielstick 12PC2-6V combined 23,000 kW (31,000 hp)
Speed:	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity:	2,500 passengers 2,447 berths 580 cars 1,115 lanemeters

MS SPL Princess Anastasia is a cruiseferry owned by St. Peter Line.^[4] Until September 2010, she was known as "Pride of Bilbao", operated by P&O Ferries on their Portsmouth–Bilbao route. The vessel was built in 1986 as the Olympia by the Wärtsilä shipyard in Turku, Finland for Rederi AB Slite, Sweden for use in Viking Line traffic.^[1] She was sold by Irish Continental Group to St. Peter Line in December 2010.

Brief history[link]

Olympia was built by the Wärtsilä Shipyard in Turku, Finland, for Rederi AB Slite. The ship was launched on 26 April 1986 under the name Olympia, and operated between Stockholm and Helsinki for Viking Line. Olympia was built as a sister ship to MS Mariella.

A model of MS Olympia as she appeared during her service with Viking Line.

In 1993 Rederi AB Slite suffered financial problems and was forced to declare bankruptcy. Olympia was sold to Irish Continental Group and chartered to P&O European Ferries who renamed her the Pride of Bilbao.

As of 1994, Pride of Bilbao has been registered in Portsmouth,since November 2008 she has been registered in Nassau, Bahamas.

In 2002 she received a major refurbishment, during which the vast majority of public spaces were updated and brought in line with P&O Ferries' new corporate branding of onboard facilities, as well as updating her livery. In addition to this, all Club Cabins and Suites received new carpets and textiles as well as having their en-suites remodelled and refurbished.

The vessel operated between Portsmouth and Bilbao between 2007 and 2010, completing one return sailing every three days before this route was closed in September 2010.
She has also been previously used to provide a weekly service between Portsmouth and Cherbourg – the "Party Cruise".

2010 onwards[link]

On 15 January 2010, P&O ferries announced that the Portsmouth–Bilbao route would be closing, with the last crossing from Bilbao 27 September 2010, when the lease for MS Pride of Bilbao expires. P&O announced that the route was loss-making and could not fund a new-build replacement for the Pride. Equally, no other existing ships are available for purchase/charter.

P&O states that for the past three years they have tried to do 'all they can' to make the route profitable. As of June 2010 there is another party said to be interested in taking the route on; they would look at an array of cost-cutting measures to continue the service.

Following the closing of the P&O route "Pride of Bilbao" was renamed "Bilbao" in October 2010. The ship left Portsmouth for the last time on 30 September 2010, after all P&O merchandise and other equipment had been removed, and sailed to Falmouth for refurbishment. Whilst at Falmouth in December 2010 Irish Continental Group sold the vessel to St. Peter Line^[5] which acquired the ship for a new service between Saint Petersburg and Stockholm to commence in May 2011 after a refit of the vessel is complete. It is thought that this ferry will bring an extra 400,000 tourists to Saint Petersburg in 2011.

She left Falmouth just after Christmas 2010 and made her way to Skagen in Norway arriving 31 December 2010 where she anchored off for a couple of days. On 2 January 2011 she made here way through the Baltic Sea to Klaipėda, Lithuania.

Current Life[link]

The "SPL Princess Anastasia" made her maiden voyage for the St. Peter Line in April 2011. She set sail from Saint Petersburg on 31 March and docked in Stockholm the next day on 1 April, completing her first passenger voyage since September 2010.

The ferry now operates on a circular service from Stockholm to St Petersburg stopping in Tallinn (Estonia) on the outward journey and Helsinki (Finland) on the return journey.^[6]

Facilities[link]

The following facilities are the ones that are currently available on the St Petersburg to Stockholm route

Restaurants and Bars:

• Columbus Bar - Deck 7
• XXXX Bar - Deck 8
• A La Carte Restaurant - Deck 7
• Irish Pub - Deck 7
• Buffet Restaurant - Deck 7
• Pool Bar - Deck 2

Leisure:

• Jacuzzi - Deck 2
• Children's Pool - Deck 2
• Adult's Pool - Deck 2
• Sauna and Gym - Deck 2

Facilities:

• 24-hour Guest Services – Deck 6
• Bureau de Change – Deck 6
• Kidz Club - Deck 7

Cabins: (all en-suite)

• Suites (sleeps 2) - Deck 6
• Deluxe Cabins (sleeps 2) - Deck 5
• Commodore Cabins (sleeps 2) - Decks 5 & 6
• HC Class Outside Cabins (sleeps 3) - Deck 4
• A Class Cabins Outside (sleeps 4) - Decks 4, 5 & 6
• B Class Cabins Inside (sleeps 4) - Decks 4, 5 & 6
• E Class Cabins Inside (sleeps 4) - Deck 2

Possible connection to deaths of yachtsmen[link]

Detectives and officers from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and Hampshire Constabulary investigating the deaths of three yachtsmen examined Pride of Bilbao when it arrived in Portsmouth on 29 August 2006. The ship is one of at least 5 that the MAIB will inspect as part of their investigation. It is thought the ferry or one of the other ships in the area may have collided, or had a near-miss, with the 25-foot (8 m) yacht Ouzo off the Isle of Wight on 20 August, leading to the deaths. All of the men died from drowning. The MAIB and Police inspected the hull for damage and studied paperwork. P&O Ferries had previously handed over information from a data recorder on board the ferry which led to the follow-up inspection of the ship. The ship was inspected again on arrival in Portsmouth on 7 September 2006. After offloading passengers and vehicles from Bilbao the vessel was turned to allow the MAIB to inspect the port side and stern.

On 20 September 2006 a P&O Ferries employee from the Pride of Bilbao was arrested by police on suspicion of causing manslaughter through gross negligence. He was released on bail pending further inquiries,^[7] and then re-arrested and charged in February 2007.^[8]

The MAIB report into the sinking of the Ouzo was released on 12 April 2007. It concluded that the sinking of the yacht was due to the Pride of Bilbao colliding with her, or passing so close that she had been swamped or capsized by the vessel's wash.^[9]

On 28 October 2007 the trial of Michael Hubble, second mate of the Pride of Bilbao started at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire. The prosecution alleged that Hubble, in sole charge of the ferry at the time of the alleged incident, failed to act properly in charge of a vessel. For example, he failed to inform the captain of the incident, failed to stop the ferry and failed to launch a search vessel – all actions it is claimed could have saved the lives of the crew of the Ouzo. All crewmembers had life-vests, and at least one of the crew survived for 12 hours after the incident. The defence contended that lights were visible astern of the ferry, encounters with yachts were common, and the Ouzo was not the vessel involved in the near miss. Hubble was cleared of manslaughter on 12 December 2007, with the jury accepting the defence case that the Ouzo was not the vessel involved.^[10] The following day he was also cleared of all charges of misconduct under the Merchant Shipping Act.^[11]

Portsmouth to Bilbao Route[link]

Pride of Bilbao entering Portsmouth Harbour

Pride Of Bilbao (as the ship was known) is most famously remembered as being operated by P&O Ferries on their Portsmouth to Bilbao route. When the company took over the ship in 1994 this was the route she was primarily used for. During her time as part of the P&O Ferries fleet Pride of Bilbao received many refurbishments with a major refit in 2002. Since 2006 Pride of Bilbao was the only P&O Ferries ship to operate from Portsmouth with her completing one return sailing every three days. The company in an attempt to encourage more passengers marketed "Mini Cruises" with passengers walking on to the ship without a car. Then the ship arrived at Bilbao mini cruise passengers would have a trip to different locations around Bilbao while the ship was prepared for its return trip back to Portsmouth. However, all attempts to make the route profitable for the company were exhausted. Many because P&O Ferries competitor Brittany Ferries running ferries to the nearby port of Santander in 24hrs whereas Pride of Bilbao took 36hrs to reach Bilbao^[12] P&O Ferries charter of the Pride of Bilbao ended on 30 September 2010 and prior to this in January of the same year the company issued a statement that they would not be continuing the charter of the vessel nor find an alternative ship to replace Pride of Bilbao as they claim to having been making losses on the route for sometime. The Pride of Bilbao completed her last sailing on 28 September 2010.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: IMO 8414582

• St Peterline Stockholm to St Petersburg homepage
• P&O Ferries homepage
• Sailtospain.co.uk, P&O Ferries marketing website
• Sky News claims Ferry linked to deaths of yachtsmen
• MAIB Report on the investigation of the loss of the sailing yacht Ouzo and her three crew south of the Isle of Wight during the night of 20/21 August 2006
• P&O Ferries officer trial starts BBC online news and lunchtime TV news, 29 Oct 2007.

v t e Ships of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O)   Current fleet English Channel European Seaway Pride of Burgundy Pride of Calais Pride of Canterbury 2 Pride of Kent 2 Spirit of Britain Spirit of France Irish Sea European Causeway European Highlander 2 Norbank Norbay Norcape North Sea Bore Song European Trader 2 Norking Norqueen Norsky Norstream Pride of Bruges 2 Pride of Hull Pride of Rotterdam Pride of York   Former fleet     Atlantic Freighter Baltic Ferry Bison Bore Mari Brave Merchant Buffalo Calibur Celtic Star Cerdic Ferry Cherbourg Express Doric Ferry Envoy Equine European Ambassador European Clearway European Diplomat European Endeavour 1 European Endeavour 2 European Enterprise European Envoy European Freeway European Freighter European Highlander 1 European Highway European Leader European Mariner European Navigator European Pathfinder European Pathway European Pioneer European Seafarer European Tideway European Trader 1 Europic Ferry Express Free Enterprise V Free Enterprise VI Free Enterprise VII Global Carrier Global Freighter Ibex Jetliner Landi Lehola Leopard Lion Max Mols (Caen Express) Merchant Brilliant Merchant Valiant Norcove Nordic Ferry Norland Norsea Norsun Northern Star P&OSL Aquitaine P&OSL Burgundy P&OSL Calais P&OSL Canterbury P&OSL Dover P&OSL Kent P&OSL Picardy P&OSL Provence Panther PO Aquitaine PO Burgundy PO Calais PO Canterbury PO Dover PO Kent PO Provence Pride of Ailsa Pride of Aquitaine Pride of Bilbao Pride of Bruges 1 Pride of Canterbury 1 Pride Of Cherbourg 1 Pride of Cherbourg 2 Pride of Cherbourg 3 Pride of Cherbourg A Pride of Cherbourg II Pride of Dover Pride of Flanders Pride of Free Enterprise Pride of Hampshire Pride of Hythe Pride of Kent 1 Pride of Le Havre 1 Pride of Le Havre 2 Pride of Portsmouth Pride of Provence Pride of Rathlin Pride of Sandwich Pride of Suffolk Pride of Walmer Pride of Winchester Portsmouth Express Puma Rodona RR Triumph Sapphire Southern Carrier Stena Cambria Stena Empereur Stena Fantasia Stena Royal Stena Shipper SuperStar Express Tidero Star Tor Futura Ursine Vega Viking Trader Viking Valiant Viking Venturer Viking Viscount Viking Voyager 1,2,3 - Denotes order in which different vessels carried the name

Yaxeni Oriquen (born September 3, 1966) is a professional female bodybuilding champion from Venezuela.

Biography[link]

Yaxeni was born the youngest of nine children (four brothers and four sisters). Yaxeni won four amateur contests in 1993, earning her pro card in the process. She then moved to the United States. Her most noteworthy achievement as a professional has been winning the Ms. Olympia title in 2005. She has also won four Ms. International titles, in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2008. At a height of 5 ft 7 in, her contest weight is typically around 160 lb, though she weighs around 185 lb during the off-season. She now lives in Miami Beach, Florida with her husband and son, and works as a personal trainer at Crunch in South Beach.

Contest history[link]

• 1993 Venezuelan Nationals - 1st
• 1993 Ibero American - 1st
• 1993 Southern American - 1st
• 1993 Central American Championships - 1st
• 1994 Jan Tana Classic - 10th
• 1994 IFBB Grand Prix Prague - 6th
• 1995 Jan Tana Classic - 9th
• 1995 IFBB Grand Prix Prague - 5th
• 1996 Jan Tana Classic - 12th
• 1996 IFBB Grand Prix Prague - 6th
• 1996 IFBB Grand Prix Slovakia - 6th
• 1997 Jan Tana Classic - 6th
• 1998 Ms. International - 11th
• 1998 Jan Tana Classic - 4th
• 1998 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 10th
• 1999 Ms. International - 18th
• 1999 Jan Tana Classic - 2nd
• 1999 Women's Pro Extravaganza - 3rd
• 1999 Pro World Championship - 6th
• 1999 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 10th
• 2000 Ms. International - 6th (HW)
• 2000 Jan Tana Classic - 5th (HW)
• 2000 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 4th (HW)
• 2001 Ms. International - 4th (HW)
• 2001 Jan Tana Classic - 2nd (HW)
• 2001 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd (HW)
• 2002 Ms. International - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2002 GNC Show of Strength - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2002 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 4th (HW)
• 2003 Ms. International - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd (HW)
• 2004 Ms. International - 2nd (HW)
• 2004 GNC Show of Strength - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2004 IFBB Night of Champions - 1st (HW)
• 2004 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd (HW)
• 2005 Ms. International - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2005 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 2006 Ms. International - 3rd
• 2006 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 7th
• 2007 Ms. International - 2nd
• 2007 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd
• 2008 Ms. International - 1st
• 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd

External links[link]

• Official web site

This biographical article relating to a sportsperson from Venezuela is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article relating to bodybuilding is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Bev Francis (born 15 February 1955) is a retired powerlifter and female bodybuilder from Australia, where she was a national shot put champion. She is also a writer, body building judge and owns a gym in Syosset, New York, in the United States where she now lives.^[1]

Early life and education[link]

Francis was born 15 February 1955 in Geelong, Australia. She went to the University of Melbourne.^[1]

Bodybuilding career[link]

Her list of athletic achievements includes breaking more than 40 powerlifting records, and winning six powerlifting world championships. She was the first woman to officially bench press over 300 pounds. After that, a picture of her appeared in several bodybuilding magazines around the world, doing what's called a most muscular pose or "the crab" while wearing a bikini. While she wasn't ripped, there was enough definition to delineate the muscles, and the fact that she possessed far more muscular size than the most muscular female bodybuilders at the time raised the question, "What would she look like on a bodybuilding stage?"^[2] In 1982 she won the Australian national shot put championships.^[3] She is best known for her career as a professional bodybuilder. In 1985 she gained notice through her role in the movie Pumping Iron II: The Women directed by George Butler, who was drawn to Francis for her reputation as "history's strongest woman". The film casts her in a controversial role within the ongoing debate over femininity and female muscularity, with her naturally massive size and muscular development challenging preconceived notions about the limits of female bodybuilding.^[2][4]

Body image and judging criteria[link]

Her career is illustrative of the struggle with engaging in the sport for personal goals as opposed to for the satisfaction of the judges, who were required to judge female bodybuilders on a vague and subjective criteria of femininity.^{[citation needed]} While her 1983 debut in the made-for-the-movie competition, received much attention for pushing the sport in a more muscular direction, when she placed 8th, her loss led her to spend years changing her look in an attempt to meet this criteria.

After years of attempting to meet the femininity standards of the contests, including using such beauty techniques as getting a nose job, lightening her hair, and slimming down her physique, she still failed to win first at the major competitions. However, she soon figured out how to make her physique more symmetrical while maintaining the size built from her powerlifting background (the three powerlifts are basics in bodybuilding training and bodybuilders with backgrounds as champion powerlifters tend to have tremendous size and density for their frames)^{[citation needed]} and won the World Championship in 1987. She continued to tinker with her physique, which led to a disappointing 1990 Ms. Olympia. After her physique was criticized as not having the fullness or muscularity compared to winner Lenda Murray and some other top placers, Francis decided to get as massive as symmetrically possible for the 1991 Olympia.^{[citation needed]}

Her first contest, the Caesar's World Cup, was created for the movie. Her last contest was altered for television, spread over two days to accommodate ESPN's live telecast. Almost all the women came in considerably larger than the previous year, surprising not just the ESPN viewers who weren't hardcore bodybuilding fans, but some bodybuilding fans.^{[citation needed]} Francis built a big lead after the two rounds of prejudging. Normally, the night show is mostly just for that—show. Unless a bodybuilding contest is very close or a competitor completely blows a posing routine, there's not much that changes after the night show routines. But Francis lost her lead and finished second to Lenda Murray, who was herself 11 pounds bigger than the previous year.^[2]

[edit] Contest history (bodybuilding)^[1]

• 1983 Caesars World Cup – 8th
• 1984 IFBB Grand Prix Las Vegas – 8th
• 1986 LA Pro Championship – 3rd
• 1986 Ms. International – 3rd
• 1986 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 10th
• 1987 Pro World Championship – 1st
• 1987 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 3rd
• 1988 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 3rd
• 1989 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 3rd
• 1990 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 2nd
• 1991 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 2nd

Post-competition career[link]

Francis owns her own gym in Syosset, New York, Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym. She is also a judge for the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB).^[1]

Honors[link]

Francis was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2000.^[2] She is the International Powerlifting Federation Hall of Fame inductee for 1987.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Francis married Steve Weinberger, a New Yorker whom she met on the set of Pumping Iron II,^[1] on 30 September 1984 and has two daughters.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Comprehensive list of articles on Bev Francis
• Bev Francis Gold's Gym

Lenda Murray (born February 22, 1962) is a champion female bodybuilder from the United States. She is an eight-time winner of the Ms. Olympia title, the highest achievement in professional female bodybuilding.

Early life and education[link]

Murray was born in 1962 in Detroit, Michigan. At Henry Ford High School, Murray was both a record-holding sprinter and varsity cheerleader. She went on to attend Western Michigan University, earning a degree in political science. While at Western Michigan, she continued to cheerlead, and became the second African American to be chosen as the university’s homecoming queen in 1982 (Todd, 1999).

After a brief tenure cheerleading for the Michigan Panthers in the now-defunct United States Football League, Murray took to the bodybuilding stage in 1985. She rose quickly through the ranks, soon winning contests at the state and regional levels.

Bodybuilding career[link]

In 1989, she earned her professional status at the IFBB North American Championships. Murray soon became a regular presence in bodybuilding magazines and a favorite subject of photographer Bill Dobbins who focused extensively on her in his books The Women and Modern Amazons.

On November 24, 1990, Murray succeeded six-time champion Cory Everson to become Ms. Olympia, a title Murray would hold for most of the following decade. She appeared in such mass-market publications as Sports Illustrated, Ebony, Mademoiselle, and Vanity Fair, as well as in Annie Leibovitz’s photo essay Women. Murray’s physique became the standard against which professional female bodybuilders are now judged – an hourglass figure, with broad shoulders tapering into a V-shaped torso mirrored by a proportionally-developed lower body.

Murray lost the Ms. Olympia title to Kim Chizevsky in 1996, and went into retirement after finishing second to Chizevsky again in 1997. However, after four years of retirement she returned to the Ms. Olympia stage, and won two more Ms. Olympia titles in 2002 and 2003. She finished second in the heavyweight class to Iris Kyle in 2004, and again retired from competition.

Murray has done color commentary for bodybuilding events on ESPN.

Personal life[link]

Murray is married to Urel McGill and lives in Playa del Rey, CA with her cat, TJ.

Contest history[link]

• 1985 NPC Michigan State - 4th
• 1985 NPC Eastern Michigan - 1st
• 1986 NPC Michigan - 3rd
• 1986 NPC Ironwoman Michigan - 3rd
• 1987 NPC Michigan - 3rd
• 1987 NPC North Coast - 2nd
• 1988 NPC Michigan - 1st
• 1989 NPC Junior Nationals - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 1989 IFBB North American Championships - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 1990 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 1991 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 1992 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 1993 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 1994 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 1995 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
• 1996 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd
• 1997 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd
• 2002 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st (HW and Overall)
• 2004 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd (HW)

References[link]

The word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a vulgar to describe the anus, often pejoratively used to refer to people.

History[link]

The word arse in English derives from the Germanic root *arsaz, which originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ors — meaning buttocks or backside.^[1] The combined form arsehole is first attested from 1500 in its literal use to refer to the anus. The metaphorical use of the word to refer to the worst place in a region, e.g., "the arsehole of the world") is first attested in print in 1865; the use to refer to a contemptible person is first attested in 1933.^[2] In the ninth chapter of his 1945 autobiography, Black Boy, Richard Wright quotes a snippet of verse that uses the term: "All these white folks dressed so fine / Their ass-holes smell just like mine ...". Its first appearance as an insult term in a newspaper indexed by Google News is in 1965.^[3] As with other vulgarities, these uses of the word may have been common in oral speech for some time before their first print appearances. By the 1970s, Hustler magazine featured people they did not like as "Asshole of the Month."^[4] In 1972, Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers recorded his song "Pablo Picasso," which includes the line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole."

Until the early 1990s, the word was considered one of a number of words that could not be uttered on commercial television in the United States. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay caused a major shock when he uttered the word during a televised MTV awards show in 1989.^[5] However, there were PG-13 and R rated films in the 1980s that featured use of the word, such as the R-rated The Terminator (1984), the PG-13-rated National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), and the PG-rated Back to the Future (1985). By 1994, however, vulgarity had become more acceptable, and the word was featured in dialog on the long-running television series NYPD Blue, though it has yet to become anything close to commonplace on network TV. In some broadcast edits (such as the syndication airings of South Park), the word is partially bleeped out — ironically, as "assh—", with the profane half of the word intact.

Semantics[link]

The word is mainly used as a vulgarity, generally to describe people who are viewed as stupid or incompetent or detestable.^[6]

This word or its literal translation is found in colloquial speech in a number of cultures (in both English and other languages).^[7] This is because it describes an organ of elimination that is considered a taboo region (since it belongs to the intimate parts) of the body in many societies.^[8]

The English word ass (meaning donkey, a cognate of its zoological name Equus asinus) may also be used as a term of contempt, referring to a silly or stupid person. In the United States, and, to a lesser degree, in Canada, the words arse and ass have become synonymous; however, in the rest of the English-speaking world, ass still only refers to the donkey, rather than the arse (buttocks). It is worth noting that speakers of some varieties of English "drop their Rs" before consonants, leading to a pronunciation of arse that is quite similar to ass.^[9]

Political usage[link]

In 2000, during a Labor Day event, then candidate George W. Bush made an off-hand remark to his running mate, Dick Cheney, that New York Times reporter Adam Clymer was a "major league asshole." The gaffe was caught on microphone and led to a political advertisement chiding Bush for "using expletives ... in front of a crowd of families," produced for Democratic opponent Al Gore.^[10]

In February 2004, American media reported that during a rally of supporters, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Bush "an asshole" for believing his aides in supporting a coup against Chavez in 2002.^[11] The word in the original Spanish was "pendejo", and in news coverage the word was widely, though incorrectly, translated as "asshole"; the meaning of the word varies substantially in Latin America, and in Venezuela its meaning is closer to "fool".^[12] The following year, in September, Nightline host Ted Koppel said to Chavez on national television, "I'm going to perhaps shock you a little, but these are your words. You called President Bush an asshole," to which Chavez replied, "I've said various things about him. I don't know if I actually used that word."^[13]

See also[link]

• Arse
• The No Asshole Rule
• Sexual Slang
• Profanity

References[link]