Comments on: Suck It Up

By: tommyboy

tommyboy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:26:34 +0000

No really, my daughter and her friend coined the phrase “Put that in your juice box and suck it.” How can anyone shudder at that? It’s hilarious.

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:36:58 +0000

I did NOT know about the origin of scumbag. I’m officially traumatized. I also noticed the rise of “suckage” lately…they used it on American Idol, which is watched by all kinds of preteens. Mostly, I just find it sad that it’ll probably replace more creative vocabulary. Oh well.

By: tommyboy

tommyboy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:19:52 +0000

Somewhere along the line “suck” was used with eggs. My oldest uses the word all the time and with pretty good comic effect. My advice is to not let your mind go to the worst possible meaning of a word. Instead go to a happy place of ignorance and bliss. After all, how upset do you get when you hear “honky?”

By: Single Wordsmith

Single Wordsmith — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:11:36 +0000

I think the the modern teen knows most of the meanings of the word s__k. Or at least knows that when s___ is used with the accusatory “You,” and a sharp inflection, the combination is most derisive and foul. If a two year old toddler can learn that “Damn it” accompanies upset blocks, then a older youth can deploy every variation of s___.
Call them on the inflection and the under-the-breadth snipe to remind them they know better words, that words can be harmful and tear relations.

By: Anne H.

Anne H. — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:53:47 +0000

I have noticed the word “douche” used often lately on TV shows. It made me cringe just as much as suck. The NY Times even wrote an article a few months ago about douche being used more frequently.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:50:36 +0000

“Somehow, I feel both better and worse about that.”

Me too, me too! I remember my best friend’s father forever admonishing the work “suck” when we were growing up. He winced every time he heard it. Before witnessing the expression on his face when I said it, I had never really thought about it as a bad word. Since then? I’ve started wincing too. But it certainly has it’s place in my repertoire of words to use when things just, well, “suck!”

By: Kristen @ Motherese

Kristen @ Motherese — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:51:22 +0000

I’m with Emily: did NOT know the derivation of scumbag. Yuckers, indeed.

My husband swears like a sailor and is not always that good about censoring himself around our kids. The other day my 2-year-old knocked over his block tower and yelled “Damn it!” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

By: terry

terry — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:25:12 +0000

I am not a prude and I swear all the time. But the word ‘SUCK’ makes me cringe. I don’t know why. My husband always tells the kids that it demonstrates their ignorance and lack of vocabulary because they can’t find a better word to express their emotions. He’s afraid to say this to me.

By: MemeGRL

MemeGRL — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:01:17 +0000

And you missed Major Monogram in the Phineas & Ferb marathon, appearing bald after going through a device and saying, “That machine sucks! Really, look! It sucked every hair off my head!” And fortunately it went past my kids in any but the literal sense.

I remember when I was an RA, the freshmen guys on my floor wondering how “that sucks” got to be a bad thing. “Really,” they pointed out, “that should be high praise and wonder, like ‘that’s surprising and awesome!’” and they would use it that way with each other for the rest of the year. “You got an A on the test you took hungover? That SUCKS, man!”

Meanwhile, me being me, I had only learned the derivation pretty shortly before that conversation in an incredibly uncomfortable conversation with my mother.

By: Elizabeth @ Life in Pencil

Elizabeth @ Life in Pencil — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:38:34 +0000

Sorta like “that blows.” That word’s meaning is morphing, too. On another note, Avenue Q is a fantastic show! Depending on your comfort level, it’s probably okay for the older boys, but not the younger. But, you know your kids better than I do. In any event, I love the show (and “It Sucks to Be You” is a hilarious song!). Actually, I’ve been thinking of doing a post on another Avenue Q song called “For Now.” Very LiP, those lyrics.