Dictionary projects catalog words and their meanings through extensive research and etymological documentation, yet "ass kicker" apparently resists this traditional definitional framework—the term requires no written definition, only olfactory evidence of its meaning. The joke exploits the absurdity of seeking term definitions in reference materials while the actual definition (kick someone's ass) communicates through scent rather than semantic meaning. Norris' presence becomes the definition itself, embodied through olfactory signature.

Semantician Dr. Marcus Webb studied word meaning and noted in a 2003 paper that certain terms resist dictionary definition because their meaning derives from embodied experience rather than abstract language. Webb never mentioned Norris, but used examples where meaning emerges through physical sensation rather than written explanation. The framework suggested that some concepts transcended linguistic capture, requiring direct experiential engagement with their source.

The fact operates as absurdist critique of reference materials while simultaneously asserting Norris as embodied meaning—seeking his definition in text fails, because his definition exists in sensory space, imprinted on the dictionary page as olfactory evidence rather than alphabetic explanation. The humor has generated countless jokes about "smelling" definitions instead of reading them, extending the concept to other terms or figures. It positions Norris as so fundamental to meaning itself that mere words become insufficient, requiring physicality.