sass

«sass» in Mova's school dictionary: Cheeky, rude talk, especially to a parent or teacher… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (sass; uncountable); verb (sass, sasses, sassed, sassing)

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal, mainly US) Cheeky, rude talk, especially to a parent or teacher; back talk. tree →

2) (verb, informal) To talk back cheekily to someone. tree →

3) (informal, praise) Bold, lively confidence and style: «she's got sass». tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday family life an adult may say «Don't give me any sass!» when a child answers back. In stories it shows a cheeky, confident character. In the UK people more often say «cheek» or «lip». Phrases: «give someone sass», «don't sass me», «full of sass».

examples

• «Don't sass your mother,» said Dad. tree →
• That's enough sass, young lady. tree →
• The puppy has a lot of sass for such a tiny dog. tree →
• He sassed the teacher and got a detention. tree →
• The singer performed with style and sass. tree →
• I didn't mean to give you sass. tree →

note

Informal, mostly American. Adjective: «sassy». UK equivalent: «cheek» («don't give me cheek»). Being sassy can be fun, but sassing adults can be seen as rude.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «sass» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.