ireland.localmean.com/arseways
arseways
ARSE-ways
Local meaning
Wrongly arranged, badly handled, reversed, confused, or in a complete mess.
Something has gone arseways when a plan, object, explanation, or situation is badly out of order. It often carries frustrated humour rather than precise technical description.
Examples in context
- The booking went arseways when the dates changed.
- You’ve put that shelf up arseways.
How it is used
The phrase can describe direction, sequence, planning, or general chaos.
Frustrated, comic, blunt, or exasperated.
DIY, work, travel, technology, and failed plans.
Commonly understood in Ireland; naturalness varies by region, generation, and relationship.
It contains a mild vulgar element and may not suit formal settings.
Spelling and scope
Contemporary Irish English, with regional and generational variation.
- Search and reference forms
arse waysgone arsewaysback arseways
LocalMean keeps common search spellings discoverable. Regional, historical, and Irish-language forms remain attached to one canonical meaning page rather than being split into duplicate entries.
Common patterns
- gone arseways
- put it on arseways
- everything went arseways
Read next
All words →Evidence and further reading
These sources support the vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, or cultural context. The entry remains open to correction from Irish speakers, regional communities, and qualified reviewers.
- The Oxford Handbook of Irish EnglishOxford University Press
Comprehensive scholarly overview of English varieties across the island of Ireland, including history, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, pragmatics, and regional variation.
- The Vocabulary of Irish EnglishOxford Academic
Scholarly chapter on the vocabulary of Irish English and the corpus evidence used to describe it.