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Just discovered the podcasts and am addicted. I'm listening backwards (most recent 1st) so don't remember if it was on a newer or older podcast that Grant said that something "sucked." He wasn't discussing usage of the term, but my ears perked up immediately because I can't stand the casual and frequent use of the word on radio, TV, by kids, teachers, and, it seems, everyone. I was born in the '50's and throughout my youth, "suck" was definitely a four-letter word referencing a sexual act. When did this change? I find the casual use of the word today so offensive. Am I the only one? What gives?
Robin
The word's been around so long, I'm not sure how "offensive" it was long ago, and I don't know when it became "non-offensive." But I can say that I often get a kick out of asking people who use the word if they know what it actually refers to. Many people, even older ones, don't know and some can't even guess! Some have guessed that it has to do with "sucking the air out of something," which is related to taking the wind out of the sails. Others have guessed that it is related to the idiom about "sucking up" pain or defeat, which means not to make an outward display of weakness. Who knows?
Hey, I feel the same way about the word b*tch. 
Growing up doing dairy and beef farming, suck was what calves did to their mothers (rather than nurse). Similarly, we attached the milkers to the cows' tits.
Only in my pre- to early-teens or so did I find out that many consider these to be bad words.
In fact, once in the last few months, repeating a phrase from my youth, that something, "was about as worthless as tits on a boar hog" and, upon reflection, realized it could have startled or been offensive to some in the conversation.
Emmett
We talked about suck on these forums before. The evidence appears to be clear that the sexual meaning of "suck" was not the original meaning in the phrase "that sucks."
Glenn said:
That word is what makes the broadcasting of the Westminster Kennel Club in prime time so appalling. What is this world coming to?
What else are you going to call a female dog, except a word which has been in use for hundreds of years (I think)? By extension, calling any female that word, while mildly offensive to me, used to be (1950s and 1960s) something that was, in my mind, verging on pornographic. Now, it's relatively common. Still is jarring, however, to my "Puritan" mind. Even when referring to dogs.
I apologize for the confusion. I agree with you completely. I intended my remark to be tongue-in-cheek.
Words like “suck,†“bitch,†“cock,†“ass,†“pussy,†“prick,†and many, many others have perfectly wholesome contexts in which they should be able to be used. It is a fact, however, that their having been appropriated for less objective uses can color their use overall, even in their original contexts.
Near our house there is an ice cream shop called “Lick It.†My wife thinks the name of the shop is suggestive, and I agree. I think it is intentional. They have GREAT ice cream!
I'm not sure how useful it is to say that someone or something sucks is not sexual just because it was not originally sexual. If I were to say that I am gay, is it useful for me to say that gay did not originally mean homosexual and therefore it doesn't mean that now? I believe that the contemporary usage of suck has a sexual connotation for many people, which has been my experience with people who have some idea of what it means (many people don't have a clue). I'm not making a value judgment about it; I'm just saying.
What about blows? Even though suck and blow are antonyms, they are completely interchangeable in this sense and they both share the same sexual reference. I would assume saying that something blows came from suck, but i wouldn't be surprised if they evolved separately. I imagine someone saying "This sucks so much it actually blows."
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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