you are anal

Guest   Thu May 01, 2008 1:17 am GMT
whats it mean
Serg   Thu May 01, 2008 1:58 am GMT
It means that you are overly careful about details when it is not necessary so that it annoys other people. "He's anal about pronunciation" - he pays too much attention to pronunciation (and he is right :) )
Russconha   Thu May 01, 2008 2:10 am GMT
This is a great reference!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_retentive
Guest   Thu May 01, 2008 5:47 am GMT
Just think about Monica from "Friends." That's pretty much anal in a nutshell.
Guest   Thu May 01, 2008 5:50 am GMT
Is it rude?
Guest   Thu May 01, 2008 5:58 am GMT
"Is it rude?"

Not necessarily. You could potentially insult someone by saying that they are anal about something, but it's mostly just a characteristic– usually somewhat negative.

It's comical in nature. Saying someone is "anal" implies a part of their personality that can be made fun of, but it can be considered obnoxious or intrusive as well.
Guest   Thu May 01, 2008 7:09 am GMT
I mean, is the reference to the asshole considered rude?
Guest   Thu May 01, 2008 10:41 am GMT
It is not the reference to the asshole, it is the reference to the Freudian psychoanalysis.
Skippy   Thu May 01, 2008 2:49 pm GMT
It is a reference to Freud's psychosexual stages of development, the anal stage, which does, in fact, refer to the anus (i.e. asshole).
K. T.   Thu May 01, 2008 8:48 pm GMT
I wouldn't call it polite, but it's commonly said. In my work, being careless or sloppy could cause the death of a patient. It's easy for people to make mistakes, so frankly, I'd rather have an "anal" doctor, nurse or pharmacist taking care of me, than some careless person.
Andre in Zuid-Afrika   Thu May 01, 2008 11:38 pm GMT
Anal doctor, kiss my ass y'all. I'm the Chief-in-charge.
Russconha   Thu May 01, 2008 11:39 pm GMT
I hope that I am correct in thinking that it is an abbreviation of 'anally retentive'.

So 'anal' on it's own means something to do with the 'arse hole' but is understood as the fuller meaning.

Sorry guys, but I feel it's really important that we get the meaning of this absolutely 100% correct without cutting any corners.
Skippy   Fri May 02, 2008 2:05 am GMT
If you say this exactly "My friend Andrew is really anal" it means the same thing as "My friend Andrew is really anal retentive." You don't want to use this in polite company, but it's not considered vulgar.
Guest   Fri May 02, 2008 7:10 am GMT
So it actually refers to constipation?
Damian in Edinburgh   Fri May 02, 2008 7:48 am GMT
No, it's got nothing to do with constipation, although it probably stems from that condition originally, for obvious reasons. The related expression "anally retentive" is quite widely used here. Basically, it can mean being a wee bit too up-tight, just a tad too straight-laced, verging on the prim and proper. You feel you want to poke such people in the eye, but hopefully you hold back from doing so unless you don't mind being landed in court or, at the very least, with an ASBO.

Actually, the word "basically" is well used over here, too - so much so that many people find it irritating, and there is one particular radio shock-jock here who gets so wound up by it that he threatens to cut off dead any caller who starts his/her point of view with that word. It doesn't seem to stop pople using it, though - it just sort of springs to the lips automatically. A good example of an excessive user of "basically" is the Conservative Party candidate in the Mayor of London election (result due out later today 02/05/08) - the somewhat blustering old Etonion - Boris Johnson, MP for Henley-on-Thames....the guy with an out of control mop of blond hair. He uses it ad nauseam.