-ussy

A calzone sliced in half on a plate — A calzone could also be called a *pizzussy*.^[1]

-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

Portmanteaus derived from pussy, referred to by Michael Dow (a linguist at the Université de Montréal) as "pussy blends", were 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 nussy (nose + pussy),^[5] and birdussy (bird + pussy, referring to a bird's cloaca).^[6] A 2024 Dune: Part Two movie promotional popcorn bucket covered with a sandworm mouth was called a Duneussy by a magazine editor and gained Internet fame for resembling a Fleshlight.^[7]^[8]

Use of -ussy as a suffix (sometimes called -ussification) was popularized on TikTok beginning in late 2021.^[9] The suffix has been used in reference to a physical hole (e.g., a donut's donutussy)^[9]^: 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]}^[9]

The suffix was named the word of the year for 2022 by the American Dialect Society, with its president Ben Zimmer stating the selection "highlights how creativity in new word formation has been embraced online in venues like TikTok."^[10]