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suck
DCHP-2 (Jul 2016)
1n. & adj. — slang, informal, derogatory
a contemptible person; one who whines and is self-pitying; a weakling; someone who cries easily.
Type: 3. Semantic Change — Suck is used in the US and the UK, and appears to have undergone semantic change in Canada.
OED-3 defines suck as "A sycophant; esp. a schoolboy who curries favour with teachers", with the earliest citation from London, 1900 (see OED-3, s.v. "suck" [n. 10]).
DARE includes suck and defines it as "A toady; a sycophant, esp a teacher's pet", giving the earliest US citation as 1943 (see DARE, s.v. "suck" [3]).
W-3 defines the term as "an obsequious person: TOADY" (see W-3, s.v. "suck" [5]).
OED-3 also has a Canadian definition of suck, described as "A worthless or contemptible person" (see OED-3, s.v. "suck" [12]), which is in keeping with the present definition. However, it appears that a new, nuanced significance of suck has emerged in Canada: quotations suggest that a suck also refers to someone who cries easily, although not necessarily with the negative, self-pitying connotation mentioned above. Instead, it may refer to a person who becomes emotional and cries easily as a response to a positive experience (see, e.g., the 2008 and 2012 quotations), and the person's emotionality may be endearing rather than contemptible, although it may still be considered a form of weakness.
See also COD-2, s.v. "suck" (noun-4), which is marked "Cdn".
OED-3 also has a Canadian definition of suck, described as "A worthless or contemptible person" (see OED-3, s.v. "suck" [12]), which is in keeping with the present definition. However, it appears that a new, nuanced significance of suck has emerged in Canada: quotations suggest that a suck also refers to someone who cries easily, although not necessarily with the negative, self-pitying connotation mentioned above. Instead, it may refer to a person who becomes emotional and cries easily as a response to a positive experience (see, e.g., the 2008 and 2012 quotations), and the person's emotionality may be endearing rather than contemptible, although it may still be considered a form of weakness.
See also COD-2, s.v. "suck" (noun-4), which is marked "Cdn".
In Canada, suck with the meaning 'an obsequious person' is still found. Some uses of the term can also be understood as combining meanings, as in to denote an obsequious crybaby, or a sycophantic, emotional person.
Quotations
1979
"If they ask me to play in the Canada Cup next year, I am going to tell them no," Dionne said quietly amid the bleary bluster of the Canadian dressing room following yesterday's 6-3 lame-duck defeat to the Swedes. "I'm not a suck. I'm not a baby [...] I've given my best five times now. It's time for them to forget about the name. If they have to keep wondering, 'Can we get Marcel Dionne?' or 'Won't he be able to play?' then they're doing things wrong."
1988
As for being immature, maybe you should stop eavesdropping and get some psychological help to improve your concentration span. If you don't like the chatting, try ignoring us instead of being a bleeding heart suck.
1990
Male vanities are usually endured in stoic silence. And this is how I endured my freezing scalp under my frozen hair. Tears came to my eyes from the pain. But I feared being thought of a "suck" for wearing a hat -- until my right ear froze.
2006
Not everyone in the restaurant was an Yzerman fan. "I thought he was a suck," said Patricia D'Amore of Windsor. "He'd let the other players fight his battles."
2008
He also looks at his own mother differently. "I used to think she was such a suck! She'd cry when I took to the ice, whether I skated well or badly. She'd cry when I left the house. But now I understand I'm away from Jesse for three hours and I miss him so much. I respect my mom's emotion a lot more."
2012
Jahnke recently made her Paris debut, doing a benefit show in a restaurant during a three-week working vacation. It was her first overseas gig, and she might be hooked after getting a standing ovation.
"It was so great. The best way I could have broken into Paris. I'm not a suck at all. I can't remember the last time I cried. But it got to me," she says.
References
- DARE
- OED-3
- W-3
- COD-2