-ussification

English

Etymology

From -ussy (suffix denoting a type of pussy) +‎ -fication.

Noun

-ussification (uncountable)

1. (neologism) The phenomenon by which words are formed using the suffix -ussy.

   Although it has mostly died out by now, -⁠ussification was once considered the peak of comedy.

   • 2022 January 26, Bethy Squires, “We Asked Linguists Why People Are Adding -Ussy to Every Word”, in Vulture‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-02-02:

     In certain pockets of the internet, the -⁠ussification of language is inescapable. Riffing off "bussy' (a portmanteau of "boy" and "pussy"), now everything is a cat or a cavity. A calzone is a pizzussy. A wine bottle has a winussy. Princess Fiona has an ogussy.

   • 2022 December 27, Julia Reinstein, Ikran Dahir, Steffi Cao, “The 41 Most Defining Memes Of 2022”, in Buzzfeed News‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-09-28:

     Though "-ussy" took off as a meme in 2022, its origins date way further back in historussy. "Bussy" — a portmanteau of "boy pussy" — has been a queer slang term for years, showing up on Urban Dictionary as early as 2004. In 2017, -ussified words had a big moment thanks to Ditty videos. This year, the -⁠ussification came to TikTok, particularly in the comment section before becoming all but inescapable all across the internussy. Even Lizzo sang about her Balenci-ussies.

   • 2023 January 13, Mia Mercado, “I Can't Shut Up About -Ussy”, in The Cut‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-03-12:

     In an academic paper from the University of Montreal, linguist Michael Dow used a more political example: Thatchussy, the -⁠ussification of Margaret Thatcher. Dow deemed this class of words "pussy blends," a phrase that deserves its own place in historussy.

   • 2023 November, Kelly E[lizabeth] Wright, Benjamin Zimmer, “Among the New Words”, in American Speech, volume 98, number 4, Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 463:

     In 2022, rapper Lil Zas X^{[sic – meaning Lil Nas X]} told Out magazine that he thought bussy should be added to the dictionary for Pride Month (Rude 2022), shifting -⁠ussification into overdrive—so much so the suffix became ADS Word of the Year.