I have teen and pre-teen kids, and so far we have not used the phrase “This sucks” (and its many variants) at our house - on the basis that it’s profanity.
But now it’s everywhere, and people use it while pretending, straight-faced, that it’s not profanity. It even had a prominent appearance in “Madagascar”, of all places.
So, I want to get some thoughts on this. Has this become “bleached” to the point where it’s lost its sense of the profane? Or do people just use it in spite of that, as a part of our general societal slide into crudity?
I think it has gotten downgraded to mean “sucks like a vaccuum” or otherwise generally indicative of an undesirable situation, rather than meaning “this is like getting a blowjob.”
Not certain exactly how the original was a negative, actually, but there it is.
“Sucks” was never profanity. It was, depending on context, either vulgar or obscene, but it was never used to reduce the divine to the profane or use the sacred in a profane manner. (This has been a Straight Dope[sup]®[/sup] lexical moment.)
That said, you are really looking for opinions among different folks as to how they view or use the word, so I am going to nudge this over to the IMHO Forum.
It’s on our list of “Not a Swear, But Don’t Say It Around Your Grandmother, Please.” It’s not on the list that makes WhyDad bellow, “Hey! Language!”, but we did both do a doubletake the first time we heard WhyKid say it (around 9 years old, I think.)
What WhyNot said.
Basically wanted them to be aware of their word choices, time/place/manner restrictions and such.
But if you try to enforce a strict line against “sucks” you are in for a long slog. It is INCREDIBLY prevalent in all kinds of situations. I suspect most people are not cognizant of its pervasiveness - provided they are not dealing with young people who are exploring boundaries.
Personally, I encouraged “stinks” as a pretty fine substitute which doesn’t run the risk of offending anyone.
Another vote for WhyNot’s description. It’s way over used by society, so complete banishment is difficult, but that doesn’t make it universally acceptable.
The history of the word “piss” is sort of interesting because it’s one of those words which was acceptable*, then became forbidden and then has become nominally acceptable again.
*Cite: King James Version of the Bible, “Piss[eth] against the wall.” (1 Samuel 25:22, 1 Samuel 25:34, 1 Kings 14:10, 1 Kings 16:11, and about ten more places. 2 Kings 18:27 and Isaiah even discuss drinking piss and eating “dung.”)
Way back in 1985, I almost got fired from my first job for saying “pissed off.” I received a verbal warning from my boss and she said if I was ever caught using obscenities at work again, I’d be dismissed immediately.
We used it when we were kids in front of our parents. However, I’ve run into people throughout life who seem to think it’s a stronger cuss than I ever did.
Over the last 10 years, it seems to have been totally neutered. Bart Simpson has always used it, and it also has been entrenched as the jokey counterpoint to “rules”, has it not?
That’s not an accurate way to describe it at all. Sure, you think it’s profanity, but there are plenty of others who think it’s not. Therefore, they’re not “pretending” it’s not profanity, any more than you are “pretending” it is.
Personally, I can’t see why you’d think it’s profane. Crude? Yes. But it’s not profanity.
Seth Stevenson has an article in Slate for you. Choice bit (though the whole thing is worth reading):
I don’t honestly remember ever being chided for using the word sucks, but maybe my parents were exceptionally permissive. Or I didn’t use the word as much as I’d like to think I did.
Ditto. I remember the first time I used “sucks” in front of my mother in my wife’s presence–Mrs. AG was absolutely shocked I would say such a thing (though I grew up saying it, originally oblivious to its early connotations; honestly, I still doubt my mom suspects that “sucking” would have a more lurid meaning beyond the “is really bad” definition).
I always assumed that it derived from “Sucks Eggs” (!904), or “Sucks at the hind teat” (1940), though there still seems to be some debate among etymologists.
Huh?? I thought he was talking about a fan: Stand in front of: it blows. Stand behind it: it sucks. Stand beside it: it does absolutely nothing for you. As in: ** is like a fan. Substitue the corporation, employer, government agency for **.
