Reader Bill sent along this explanation of the term a**hat used by Rosanne Cash last night to tell John Boehner to zip it. I can't say for sure if Bill is correct, but I appreciate him going out of his way to explain.

The e-mail in all its glory (sort of -- I've redacted it slightly):

Jonathan,

You seem to think the term a**hat has no meaning.  "Go sh** in your hat" as a response to a stupid or unreasonable request dates back to at least WWII.

From that we get "he sh** in his hat" which is comparable in meaning to "he screwed the pooch" meaning to mess up badly.  Hats are suppose to cover a head, but if you use one to cover your a** you will eventually sh** in it.  As a hat filled with crap is no longer suited for wearing on one's head, an a**hat is someone as useless as a hat filled with crap.

As a Bush's point man for No Child Left Behind and a leader of RINOs in congress, Boehner certainly qualifies as an a**hat.

I hope this helped end your confusion.

Bill

A quick Google search shows that the term can also refer to someone who has their head up their...