# Is "sussed" a real word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260 "2004-04-16T00:04:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oriegirl44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@oriegirl44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oriegirl44)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/1 "2004-04-16T00:04:49Z")
I know these guys who call themselves “sussed”. They say it means “to have it all”. The only problem is that i can’t find it in the dictionary… so i guess what i’m wondering is… a) Is it a real word? b) If so, what EXACTLY does it mean? c) What is it’s origin? ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/2 "2004-04-16T00:11:05Z")
suss tr.v. Slang sussed, suss·ing, suss·es To infer or discover; figure out: “I think I’m good at sussing out what’s going on” (Ry Cooder). To size up; study: “Suss out the designers in whom you are interested” (Lucia van der Post). probably short for suspect From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) I think it’s more a UK word than a US word. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/3 "2004-04-16T00:12:58Z")
[Suss](http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/4/4-351.html) ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/4 "2004-04-16T01:16:58Z")
> [@oriegirl44](#): > > The only problem is that i can’t find it in the dictionary… Try looking in an Oxford dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/5 "2004-04-16T01:31:41Z")
> [@oriegirl44](#): > > I know these guys who call themselves “sussed”. They say it means “to have it all”. The only problem is that i can’t find it in the dictionary… > > so i guess what i’m wondering is… > > a) Is it a real word? > b) If so, what EXACTLY does it mean? > c) What is it’s origin? * * * suss ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ss) tr.v. Slang sussed, suss·ing, suss·es 1. To infer or discover; figure out: “I think I’m good at sussing out what’s going on” (Ry Cooder). 2. To size up; study: “Suss out the designers in whom you are interested” (Lucia van der Post). * * * It is sortof like dissed * * * dis ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ds) tr.v. Informal dissed, diss·ing, diss·es ``` To show disrespect to, often by insult or criticism: “ [The network] is often dissed for going after older, less demographically desirable viewers” (Michael McWilliams). ``` . ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/6 "2004-04-16T01:33:41Z")
> [@Spezza](#): > > Try looking in an Oxford dictionary. …or even the Merraim Webster Collegiate. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/7 "2004-04-16T01:49:28Z")
> [@oriegirl44](#): > > I know these guys who call themselves “sussed”. They say it means “to have it all”. The only problem is that i can’t find it in the dictionary… > > so i guess what i’m wondering is… > > a) Is it a real word? > b) If so, what EXACTLY does it mean? > c) What is it’s origin? c) The OED cites it as a colloquial use of the past participle of “sus” or “suss” suss [Abbrev. of SUSPECT v.; cf. prec. Participles of the verb are usu. formed with a double final consonant in the stem. The form with final double s has now spread to the infinitive. The substantive, however, is still most commonly encountered with a single final consonant (sus).] 1. a. trans. To suspect (a person) of a crime (cf. SUS n. 1). Also in general use. b. With obj. clause: to suspect, to imagine or fancy (something) as likely; hence, to feel or surmise. 1. To work or figure out; to investigate, to discover the truth about (a person or thing). Also with obj. clause and without const. ---
**Author:** ![oriegirl44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@oriegirl44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oriegirl44)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/8 "2004-04-17T03:51:48Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > …or even the Merraim Webster Collegiate. > > Haj well i’m sorry…i guess the 1992 dictionary i stole from school didn’t have it… ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/9 "2004-04-17T04:20:27Z")
“Hey, you, gettin’ drunk, so sorry, I’ve got you sussed. Hey, you, smokin’ mother nature, this is a bust.” Pete Townsend, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, 1969 ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/10 "2004-04-17T11:26:16Z")
It may be an archaic term that became obsolete in modern Britain but survived in the Caribbean, (another example is ‘vexed’) and was then revived in 20th Century Britain with the arrival of immigrants from the Caribbean. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/11 "2004-04-17T11:41:14Z")
According to [www.word-detective.com/102502.html#suss](http://www.word-detective.com/102502.html#suss) > [@](#): > > The origin of “suss” turns out to be remarkably straightforward. “Suss” is simply an abbreviation of the verb “to suspect.” When “suss” first appeared as underworld and police slang in the U.K. around 1953, it meant “to suspect a person of a crime.” By the late 1950s, the meaning had broadened to include “to imagine or surmise,” as a worker might “suss” that he would be fired if he missed work too often. From there, the current meaning of “figure out” was a logical extension of the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/12 "2004-04-17T12:27:38Z")
Kind of similar but not the same - suss = suspicious. “That bloke looks a bit suss” ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sussed-a-real-word/240260/13 "2004-04-17T14:44:20Z")
My English relatives use it a lot. I just started seeing it on American TV in the last couple of years.