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From: punshonj@crl.aecl.ca (John Punshon)
Subject: Re: Origin of Slang Term "Wuss"
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References: <rdevriesD9v6rx.87q@netcom.com> <WF61vYDXbaib083yn@gol.com> <173BDA682S86.BMADDISO@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca>
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 17:39:08 GMT
Lines: 28


A "Wuss" is a cross between a wimp and a pussy.

That's the derivation given in the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont
High" (c. 1980?), anyway.  Does anyone have an older reference?

John


In article <173BDA682S86.BMADDISO@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca>, BMADDISO@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca says:
>
>In article <rdevriesD9v6rx.87q@netcom.com>,
>rdevries@netcom.com (Robert De Vries) wrote:
>> My spelling may be off, but I've been trying to figure the origin of hte
>> slang term "wuss".
> 
>I had always assumed it derived from -woozy- meaning unsteady or wobbly.
>Someone who was woozy was called a -wooz- in spoken form, which does not
>look good when written, hence -wuss-. ?
> 
> Brian  Maddison     (bmaddiso@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca)

---------------------              __    _
John Punshon         |            / l    \~-_               "Not so
                     |   ,----~~~~--+-----`--~----____       goddamned
                     |   @   /~_~\  | ~      |   /~_~\~~~-,  fast!!"
punshonj@crl.aecl.ca |   \_ ( (_) )  \_______|  ( (_) )_-~    -a passenger
                     |     ~~\___/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\___/~
