Buzz
When someone is dealing with problems that seem too much to handle, it’s typically an unhelpful friend or onlooker who will say that they have troubles 'up the wazoo.' Alternatively, they might use the expression 'out the wazoo.' In both cases, 'wazoo' is a slang term referring to the backside, and the unfortunate individual in question has more problems than they know what to do with—either stuck in their rear end or coming right out of it.
Tacky? Absolutely. But also quite vivid. So where did this amusing expression originate?
Let’s begin with the term 'wazoo.' The Oxford English Dictionary—an authoritative source on both polite and vulgar language—has a hard time determining its exact origin. One theory suggests it might have been derived from the French word 'oiseau,' meaning 'bird,' through Louisiana Creole. Another possibility is that it evolved from the term 'razoo,' a late-1800s slang for 'raspberry,' not in the fruit sense, but as a gesture of contempt or mockery.
Another possibility is that 'wazoo' might be connected to the word 'kazoo' or its variant 'gazoo,' which both emerged in the 19th century to describe the buzzing musical instrument. In the 1960s, all three terms gained popularity as slang for the butt or anus, possibly due to the unpleasant sounds associated with both. 'Wazoo' in particular made its first appearance in this context in 1961 when a University of California, Berkeley humor magazine suggested readers to 'run it up yer ol' wazoo.' Francis Pollini also used the phrase in his 1965 novel 'Glover,' where a character describes a place with 'Blokes, Blokes, up the goddamn gazoo and out.'
Pollini’s use of the phrase mirrors how we use 'up the wazoo' today—indicating an overwhelming (usually undesirable) excess or abundance. The exact moment when people began using 'wazoo' in this way is unclear, but it certainly occurred by 1978, when the 'Honolulu Star-Advertiser' reported that Wally Amos (of Famous Amos cookies) was 'up his wazoo in kazoos' after distributing them at a baseball game.
By the 1980s, the 'up the wazoo' expression, referring to the posterior, began appearing more frequently in printed materials. The first citation in the OED came in 1981, in the 'Syracuse Herald-Journal,' which quoted: 'There comes a time in performing when you just do it. You can have theory up the wazoo.' Green’s Dictionary of Slang also cites 1983's 'Gardens of Stone,' with the phrase: 'I got paperwork up the wazoo.'
Eventually, the expressions 'up the wazoo' and 'out the wazoo' became more popular than their 'kazoo' and 'gazoo' counterparts—and even surpassed other 'wazoo' phrases, such as 'pain in the wazoo.' According to the OED, both 'up the wazoo' and 'out the wazoo' mean 'in great quantities, to excess.' However, Green's Dictionary offers slightly different interpretations: 'Out the wazoo' simply refers to excess, while 'up the wazoo' has a negative connotation, implying that something is 'full up' or 'overflowing,' often beyond what can be managed. If someone has a problem 'up the wazoo,' it suggests the issue has spiraled out of control. On the other hand, 'out the wazoo' can refer to an excess that’s not necessarily problematic—one could have money 'out the wazoo' without complaint, but bills 'up the wazoo' would be an entirely different matter.
In every case, the term 'wazoo' allows a speaker or writer to express something crude without violating social conventions or editorial standards. This may explain its rise in popularity. Even 'The Wall Street Journal' embraced it early on, with a 1971 article stating that golf 'is quite safe, the greatest risk being the possibility of a long drive plunking some poor fellow in the wazoo.'
However, 'wazoo' has not always been restricted to the posterior. According to Green’s, the term 'wazoo' was also used as a euphemism for the vagina as early as 1962. For some, 'wazoo' simply refers to an opening, and at one point, it seems that any of those could have been referenced.
