know one's ass from a hole in the ground
To have an adequate level of knowledge or skillTo have an adequate level of knowledge or skill; to understand what one is doing or talking about.
» We now know what the ground rules are.
CM · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic, vulgar)To have an adequate level of knowledge or skill; to understand what one is doing or talking about.
Examples
6 sentencesWe now know what the ground rules are.
Tom doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.
They wanted to know on what grounds he wished to quit.
The Galapagos Islands are a well-known breeding ground for marine iguanas.
In the fight to abolish slavery Lincoln knew that he occupied the moral high ground.
Translations
2 languagesForms
knows one's ass from a hole in the ground, knowing one's ass from a hole in the ground, knew one's ass from a hole in the ground, known one's ass from a hole in the ground| Base form | know one's ass from a hole in the ground · to know one's ass from a hole in the ground |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | knows one's ass from a hole in the ground |
| Present participle | knowing one's ass from a hole in the ground |
| Past simple | knew one's ass from a hole in the ground |
| Past participle | known one's ass from a hole in the ground |
irregular · Lesson
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | know one's ass from a hole in the ground |
| he, she, it | knows one's ass from a hole in the ground |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | knew one's ass from a hole in the ground |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have known one's ass from a hole in the ground |
| he, she, it | has known one's ass from a hole in the ground |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will know one's ass from a hole in the ground |
Antonyms
1 antonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.