"That sucks"

[JackM]

Why do we use the phrase "that sucks" to mean "that's really terrible"?

It suggests that getting a blowjob is a deplorable activity, and implies a cock sucker is the lowest of the low. My theory is that it was coined by conservative heterosexuals, for whom sex is only for making babies. For the rest of us, isn't it good to suck?

To people who think it's ok to use this phrase, I would just say that language should make sense. I certainly can't think of any other example of a pleasurable activity used as a metaphor for something horrible. I particularly dislike hearing it from UK gay men, because to me it's not (or at least shouldn't be) part of "British" English.

Anyone any thoughts on this?

 

[Calboner]

Part of the trouble is that people use the expression without even thinking of what it means. When I was a teenager (thirty years ago), to deride something by saying that it "sucks" was the kind of thing that you could do among your friends, but not in front of parents or teachers, and it was certainly not something that anyone would do on television. Everybody knew that the verb referred to fellatio, and that was what made it a spicy thing to say. Today, I think that most people, or at least most young people, use the phrase without even being aware of the connection, and certainly without thinking of it.

My favorite illustration of the casual use of "sucks" comes from an episode of The Simpsons:

Bart: [whining] Mom, my slingshot doesn't fit in these pockets. And these shorts leave nothing to the imagination. These uniforms suck!

Marge: Bart! Where do you pick up words like that?

Homer: [on phone] Yeah, Moe, that team sure did suck last night. They just plain sucked! I've seen teams suck before, but they were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.
​

 

[B_Jennuine73]

How about calling a guy a pussy like it's a bad thing?

 

[JackM]

Jennuine, I don't think that one is entirely negative. I've often heard it said of men who look sinister or threatening, to mean that they're nice guys really.

 

[Calboner]

Jennuine, I don't think that one is entirely negative. I've often heard it said of men who look sinister or threatening, to mean that they're nice guys really.

Maybe some people use the expression that way in the UK, but no one could ever do so in the US. We used to use the expression "pussycat" that way (e.g., "Don't let his manner scare you -- he's really a pussycat"), but I think it's out of fashion now.

 

[ZOS23xy]

How about calling a guy a pussy like it's a bad thing?

Meeee-owwww!

 

[deleted157868]

Who really cares? Its an insult, don't think too much about it, lol.

 

[B_Hickboy]

This thread sucks.

 

[Calboner]

You suck.

 

[jjsjr]

LOL to the last two posters....

but yeah, I have thought about that before. It's sort of a hidden form of discrimination. It's like calling something "gay" and meaning that it's awful. It's not as blatant, but I understand. Unfortunately, I feel as if its too well-ingrained into the vernacular and I've definitely caught myself using it.


Eventually, I think there will be a new word that will replace it. But for now, we're stuck with it...
...and that sucks.

 

[Deno]

Black holes suck and there pretty terrible.

 

[bigman420]

For the same reason that teenagers refer to everything bad or stupid as "gay." "That's so gay...." That's just the way we talk in this country, I don't think it's so much meant to be an insult to any one group. I think some people just take this stuff a little to seriously.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Black holes suck and there pretty terrible.

Where pretty terrible?

 

[ManlyBanisters]

He's so pretty, oh so pretty.. :wink:

 

[B_Hickboy]

vayyyy-cunt!!!

 

[ZOS23xy]

Black holes suck and there pretty terrible.

Black holes are gravitation vortexes. You fall into it by gavitational force.

Therefore it does not suck.

 

[cockoloco]

Where pretty terrible?

Their, right their!

 

[B_Hickboy]

They'res no sen's in any of thi's.

 

[ZOS23xy]

cos id suggs

 

[vince]

I certainly can't think of any other example of a pleasurable activity used as a metaphor for something horrible.

You can't? How about FUCK? It even rhymes.

Fucking is pretty much up there on the pleasurable activity scale, yet more often than not the word is used pejoratively.

For example:
Fuck off Toddy.
You fucked up.
You're a fucking idiot.