stiff-assed = bad tempered?

hmmmm... "stick up his butt" or humorless

It's not a phrase that's commonly used in America, not sure if it's a Britishism.

"-ass" or "-assed" is a fairly common suffix. Examples include:

- Half-assed: Doing something in a sloppy, unskilled way.

- Lame-ass: Really means the same as "lame."

So I would guess that "stiff-assed" means "stiff," or uptight and humorless. But it might be something that the author made up.

but -assed is specifically a USism. Suffixing any quality with -assed or ass is also definitely a USism. Half-assed, lame-assed, I'm gonna bust your lazy ass, etc, all these words and phrases have a deeply American smell about them. Anyhow Brits would write -arsed. Also, OristarA, I am a "Brit", and I find that quote offensive.

Thank you all.