wussy (1977)

[Wilson Gray]

Yes, I can understand that. But, how would the simple verb be used?
Could someone say, "I'm pissed at John. He waited till the last minute,
then he wussed on me"? I prefer, "... wussed out on me." However, I do
admit that just plain "wussed" looks better on the page than it sounded
in my head. Perhaps it's just a matter of taste.

-Wilson

On Aug 15, 2005, at 11:02 AM, Mullins, Bill wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: wussy (1977)
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>>
>> Isn't this verb "wuss out" and not just "wuss"?
>>
> I suppose the cites listed are in fact "wuss out".  I've heard (and
> used) "wuss" as a verb, but it was just easier to search for "wuss out"
> than separating the nouns from verbs when searching for "wuss" only.
>