more "X sucks"

[Joel S. Berson]

Does the analysis distinguish among:

"It (or some non-personal thing, like "my job") sucks" -- for which I
receive no sexual or scatogical connotations.

"He/she/someone sucks" -- for which I would normally have none of the
above, unless context pointed to it.

The imperative "Suck off" -- for which I perceive a sexual
antecedent, but do not see as "go perform fellatio".

Etc.?

And I suppose that current meaning/association may have little
relationship to origin?

Joel

At 4/21/2011 10:41 AM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>Following up on our latest round of "X sucks" exegesis...
>
>IT SUCKS
>...
>The Belly Button Company, 13 St. Marks Place, N.Y., N.Y. 10003
>---
>
>Plain-old "it sucks" is notable here, as I believe this is the
>earliest known example of that pithy formation. B... In the past
>we've discussed the graffito "There is no
>gravity. The universe sucks!", which Wilson recalls from 1960 and Ron
>from 1968:
>
>http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0510C&L=ADS-L&P=R7202

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