One of my coworkers has suddenly taken to referring to all and sundry as "asi." Eating cake off of paper towels? Asi. Undercuts? Asi. Not saying thank you in triplicate? Very asi. Where did she pick it up? And why now? Time to pull out the dictionary.
But is there a clear answer? According to the internet, being "asi" is basically being trashy, with a big helping of just general impolite. One of the clarifications that comes up on Google is a "Hartz IV-Empfänger" or "Hartz-4ler", a word that I was totally at a loss for, but which gives you a sense of how important deep familiarity with the law is to all Germans, not to mention a willingness to enforce it. Hartz IV is the part of the law created by the Hartz Commission that ensures unemployed Germans have money to pay for their bus passes and soccer team jerseys and annoying children with mohawks. I'm sure most Germans could give you a bio of Hartz, too, without looking at Wikipedia, but I'm not that much of a local yet.
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