Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yoshi-pooh]

Hi, everyone

I heard something funny about the word"suck" as a true story.
An Europian electric maker called "XXX" tried to sell their vacuum clearner with the slogan"Nothing sucks like an XXX". However, they didn't succeed because "suck" means "bad" in American English.

I'd like to ask you how to use this word in this meaning. Is it OK to say,"Toyota's new slogan sucks", or "The new Harry Potter movie sucks."?

I'd also like to have a couple of natural use of "suck" to mean "bad".

Thank you

yoshi-pooh

[CP]

I don't like the use of "it sucks" and similar phrases to mean that something is inferior, no good, unfair, and the like. Its origin is very crude, referring to a particular s e x u a l act, and when I hear children in public say, "That movie sucked!", or "Ew, Britney Spears? She sucks!", I feel very uncomfortable, even if I agree with their evaluations.

Because of its connotation, the phrase would never be a good one to attach to one's product, except in a humorous way. But even then, it could be foolish, because humor doesn't always work.

A magazine ad with the copy "Hoover vacuum cleaners really suck!" or "Nothing sucks like a Hoover", for example, would be laughable. Of course, suction is an important feature of a vacuum cleaner, but that ad copy is ambiguous. It would probably get people talking and thinking about Hoover vacuum cleaners, which is what Hoover wants, but some people would not see it as a joke, so at least some potential customers would never want to buy a Hoover. Hoovers suck. Even the Hoover Company says so.

Next time you are tempted to say that something sucks, challenge yourself to use your expanding vocabulary, and resist the temptation to say what everyone else is saying.

The new Harry Potter movie was like two hours in the dentist's chair. Toyota's new slogan must have been written by a drunk chimpanzee. Britney Spears? Didn't she used to be attractive or something?
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[yoshi-pooh]

Thanks, CP

I just thought saying "it sucks" is a casual way of saying "bad", so maybe I have to telll my students there is more to it than that.

yoshi-pooh