scuzzy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈskʌze/ (Scotland)
- /ˈskʌ.zi/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /-zi/ (Scotland)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈskʊzi/ (Northern-England)
- /-zɪ/ (Scotland)
Etymology
Probably a blend of scummy + fuzzy 1960s, US, colloquial, expressive coinage, with influence from scum, fuzzy, lousy, sleazy.
Meanings
-
(colloquial) Dirty or grimy.
a scuzzy toilet
Outside the gay discotheques, there was also a yuppy scene of 'XTC parties' that precociously featured one of the defining aspects of rave – the eschewing of alcohol in favour of juice and mineral water. For these respectable professionals, Ecstasy didn't seem like a drug; it was cheap, there was no scuzzy paraphernalia like syringes or bongs, it wasn't […]
2012, Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture, Soft Skull Press, →ISBN, page 281:
-
(colloquial) Disreputable; sleazy.
I’d been counting on Paul, a scuzzy-but-still-sexy manager of a music club in Shoreditch, to meet up with me on my first night in London.
2016 March 21, Allison P. Davies, “What I Learned Tindering My Way Across Europe”, in Travel + Leisure, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2018:They were easy to shrug off as harmless cranks, only interested in getting together in scuzzy pubs to talk about a revolution they would never manage to provoke, more likely to fight among themselves than raise a concerted attack on the minorities they were so opposed to.
2015, Eva Dolan, Tell No Tales, Random House, →ISBN, page 167:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| scuzziest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| scuzzier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
scuzzoid · scuzzball · scuzz · scuzzbucket