Just started a temp job as a secretary. My new colleague has described all but 2 people (in the open plan office), including 2 bosses, as being anal.
2007-09-10 20:28:14 · 11 answers · asked by Say It Like You Mean It 4 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
It means they're very particular, and detail oriented, to the point of being extremely annoying because they have to have things done to their almost unrealistic standards.
2007-09-10 20:36:14 · answer #1 · answered by Hawkster 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It means fussy, neurotic, nit-picky. Obsessed about stuff the doesn't matter.
It's short for "Anal retentive" which means the same thing.
Hawkster, alishadai & nickipettis are correct. The folks saying it means '@sshole or backwards or 'won't listen' are NOT.
Your colleague is warning you that some of your bosses will overreact to minor slip-ups.
In rare cases 'anal' can be a marginal complement meaning you have the ability to pull off a task the requires great and meticulous attention to detail.
2007-09-10 20:59:48 · answer #2 · answered by Phoenix Quill 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it is an old fashioned description of personality types, based on theories about toilet training by Freud, i thinkg.
Anyway, anal would mean "holds stuff in " emotional, nitpicky, extra careful. could even mean holds a grudge. or wants work done very carefully.
this is really not used as a description by professionals anymore, so i think she is just using it as a negative word,
2007-09-10 20:37:04 · answer #3 · answered by nickipettis 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
An anal person wants things done a certain way...basically their way is the right way and the only way.
2007-09-10 20:36:46 · answer #4 · answered by alishadai 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
hawkster is right. But I hate this word even though it is a real word with a specific meaning it just has too much connection to asshole for me to be comfortable using it without being a smart ***.
2007-09-10 21:05:41 · answer #5 · answered by conda 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a anal question by someone called poopsy, to funny...anal usually means something like no fun or sense of humour.
2007-09-10 20:37:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Backwards. Anal stems from the saying "She is *** backwards about life."
Example: Someone takes the longest time to complete a task by doing it their own way instead of going about it a shorter way but doing it another way.
2007-09-10 20:32:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
I think he doesn't like the bosses. Perhaps there is some reson for that. It's an abusive word.
2007-09-10 20:34:06 · answer #8 · answered by Natalya Ch 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Really neat and uptight is how I view it to be.
2007-09-10 21:11:42 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
he means that your bosses are full of **** there don't want to listen. i think
2007-09-10 20:58:06 · answer #10 · answered by Fifi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋