-ussy
-ussy (/ˈʊsi/ UUS-ee) is an English-language morpheme derived from the word pussy used to create novel derived terms, typically with the implication of resembling the female genitalia in some way. Neologisms derived from pussy have existed in LGBT slang in the form bussy (boy pussy) since the early 2000s, but were popularized in the late 2010s and early 2020s on social media platforms including Tumblr and TikTok. -ussy was named the American Dialect Society's word of the year for 2022.
History
[edit]Portmanteaus derived from pussy, referred to by Michael Dow (a linguist at the Université de Montréal) as "pussy blends", are first noted within LGBT slang. These include the terms bussy (boy pussy), referring to a man's anus, and mussy (man pussy), with bussy first appearing on the Internet in 2004.[2]: 4 [note 1] In this context, Dow described -ussy as a fractomorpheme analogous to -gate (from Watergate).[2]: 13 An April 2017 Tumblr post popularized pussy blends, including the term thrussy (from throat), and it was further spread as part of the "one thicc bih" Internet meme about a month later.[2]: 4 A 2018 study of pussy blends on Twitter as part of the meme identified 1,338 pussy blends used in tweets from June to August 2017.[2]: 8 Other examples of pussy blends include Thatchussy (Margaret Thatcher + pussy),[2] clussy (clown + pussy),[4] grussy (Grinch + pussy),[2]: 6 and nussy (nose + pussy).[5]
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Use of -ussy as a suffix (sometimes called -ussification) was popularized on TikTok beginning in late 2021.[6] The suffix has been used in reference to a physical hole (e.g., a donut's donutussy)[6]: 1 as well as in a more figurative sense to emphasize an effort involving an object or concept (e.g., a barista putting their "whole baristaussy" into latte art).[note 2][6]
The suffix was named the word of the year for 2022 by the American Dialect Society with Ben Zimmer, the president of the society, stating that the selection "highlights how creativity in new word formation has been embraced online in venues like TikTok."[7]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Bussy can also be used to refer to a transmasculine person's vagina.[3]
- ^ See put one's whole pussy into on Wiktionary.
References
[edit]- ^ Squires, Bethy (January 26, 2022). "We Asked Linguists Why People Are Adding -Ussy to Every Word". Vulture.
- ^ a b c d e f Dow, Michael (2018). "A corpus study of phonological factors in novel English blends" (PDF). Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Conference of the Canadian Linguistic Association. Canadian Linguistic Association: 1–14.
- ^ Fielding, Lucie (2021). Trans Sex: Clinical Approaches to Trans Sexualities and Erotic Embodiments. New York: Routledge. p. 91. ISBN 9780429318290.
- ^ Taylor, Magdalene (June 28, 2022). "Serve Me Up a Slice of That Clussy". MEL Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Dickson, EJ (December 21, 2020). "Meet the People Getting Off on Covid-19 Nasal Swabs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Bloch, Emily (January 11, 2023). "Language scholars decided "-ussy" was the word of 2022. Here's what that means". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "2022 Word of the Year is "-ussy"". American Dialect Society. January 6, 2023.