- NEW!
by gone on May 24th, 2007
The phrase "blowing smoke", meaning to deceive and/or distract, has been around for years. The "up ones ass" part is a fairly new addition. The origin of the "blowing smoke" part is from stage magic, where magicians use smoke to hide their actions or to distract the audience. So if your actions were meant to distract or deceive, you were said to be blowing smoke. Of course, anyone who studies American slang knows that pretty much any phrase can be improved by adding a reference to someones ass, so I suppose it's inevitable the that is where the smoke would eventually be blown.
What Persian word does pashmina come from?
by Answerbag Staff on April 23rd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What does\"in the land of\"mean?
by Answerbag Staff on April 22nd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What does bottom line mean?
by Answerbag Staff on April 22nd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What does "Lickity Split" refer to?
by Weylon on January 8th, 2012
| 1 person likes this
How can I be more original?
by Weylon on February 6th, 2012
| 4 people like this
You're reading Where did "blow smoke up your ass" come from - deed I ask?
Your favorite Q&A site is on Facebook! Become a fan to connect with the ever-growing community of Answerbaggers, share your thoughts and find out what Answerbag's up to next!
Comments
Just saw Stephen Frye's show QI, season 8 episode 10. He showed a device supposedly used to rescue drowning victims by 'blowing smoke up their ass'. Is this a possible source when the medical practice was debunked?
by Paul_S4724 on December 3rd, 2010
It would be great if people only answered questions they KNEW the answer to, rather than make some kind of authorative sounding guess that just delays the process... As proof, just look at the 2 idiots who "like" GONE's answer/guess. I can confidently state that based on "gones" answer/guess; s/he is a master of blowing smoke up peoples' arses...!
by bubbabighatt on March 6th, 2011