# Sneaked vs. snuck **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664 "2015-11-16T01:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/1 "2015-11-16T01:33:18Z")
I prefer “snuck”, but acknowledge that “sneaked” is not wrong. Snuck is one syllable and IMHO easier to pronounce. What say you? (Probably been done before, but maybe we’ll hear some new opinions). ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/2 "2015-11-16T02:03:44Z")
I prefer snucked. It always raises a few eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/3 "2015-11-16T02:16:10Z")
I generally use “sneaked.” Couldn’t exactly say why; it just sounds better to my ear. Now I’m freaked out… ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/4 "2015-11-16T06:50:37Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Now I’m freaked out… Brilliant! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/5 "2015-11-16T08:58:03Z")
The original word was “sneaked.” People started to say “snuck” near the end of the 19th century. That usage has become more common in recent years. When I was in the eighth grade I used the word “snuck” in an English paper, and my teacher corrected it to “sneaked.” I have avoided “snuck” ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/6 "2015-11-16T15:27:50Z")
I would more likely uses ‘snuck’ in most cases. If I were writing something formal, I’d more likely use ‘sneaked.’ The first time I ever heard the word ‘snuck’ was in the 1960s TV series “Family Affair.” Jody said ‘snuck,’ and Mr. French corrected him that the proper word was ‘sneaked.’ I think it’s probably uncommon in the UK (and maybe Canada and Australia, too). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/7 "2015-11-16T15:30:59Z")
Oh no. It’s common in Canada. In fact I recall maybe 25 years ago Michael J Fox using it on the Letterman show and David trying to correct him. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/8 "2015-11-16T15:35:35Z")
All my public school teachers would have corrected me if I wrote or said snuck. Same thing with thunk (thought) or teached (taught). They’d either say snuck isn’t a word or was sub-standard. However, they also preached dictionary use, but swore compare ONLY meant to examine similarities. Curious, that. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/9 "2015-11-16T16:17:45Z")
I use language this way: “sneaked into” “snuck off” Doesn’t anyone else? Do the rest of you just use one of the words? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/10 "2015-11-16T16:19:51Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Snuck is one syllable Er…so is “sneaked.” ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/11 "2015-11-16T18:03:43Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I use language this way: > “sneaked into” > “snuck off” > > Doesn’t anyone else? Do the rest of you just use one of the words? Ahh, but what about where you’re not sure if they’re coming or going? “He snuck around the corner” vs “He sneaked around the corner”. I personally prefer snuck as it’s an easier roll off the tongue than sneaked. The most common phrase I’d use, “He snuck up on me!”, doesn’t sound right to me with sneaked. For some reason snuck seems more surprising and immediate to me while sneaked sounds more reserved and past-tense, so “He sneaked up on me!” just doesn’t convey the surprise properly. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/12 "2015-11-16T22:44:34Z")
Snuck sounds like your up to something, while sneaked sounds like you just left quietly. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/13 "2015-11-16T23:14:05Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I generally use “sneaked.” Couldn’t exactly say why; it just sounds better to my ear. > > Now I’m freaked out… Snuck. I was going to say “sneaked”, but I puck ahead and twuck my answer. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/14 "2015-11-17T00:21:35Z")
Those who are expecting me to form the obvious retort on the same basis are going to have to live with disappointment. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/15 "2015-11-17T01:49:40Z")
To me they are in free variation. So are “dove” and “dived” and others. Often different English dialects used the one or the other and then crossed the pond to North America, bringing their idiosyncracies. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/16 "2015-11-17T02:20:18Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Those who are expecting me to form the obvious retort on the same basis are going to have to live with disappointment. > > 😉 Okay, I’ll do it. This thread fruck me out. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/17 "2015-11-17T05:05:56Z")
Grin! I confess, I was thinking more of getting feaked. (Extra points for those who know what “feak” means…) ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/18 "2015-11-18T20:23:22Z")
I generally don’t use “snuck.” I put that word in the same category as “brung” or “tooken.” I grew up in a small rural town where people said, “ain’t got no,” and “I’m gonna.” I worked too hard to learn to speak English well to casually speak badly. My father once said to me, “No one is ever insulted by a person speaking correctly. The opposite is not always true.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneaked-vs-snuck/737664/19 "2015-11-19T03:07:31Z")
I don’t know where “snuck” came from but I still consider it tongue-in-cheek usage even though it’s been around a while.