Suck it and see idiom

I am a native English Speaker born and bred in the Northeaster US. I have never heard this idiom. Suck it can refer to oral sex (quite vulgar). Or it could be short for "suck it up" (which is not vulgar).

Oh... Google tells me it is the name of an album and apparently the phrase has a non-vulgar meaning in England. And apparently some stores in the US censored it for the same reason that I thought it might be vulgar. When I see the phrase "suck it" my first impression is that it has to do with fellatio.

Yes! A CD of the Arctic Monkeys has the idiom and I found that the meaning is not vulgar at all. However i would like to hear more answers

Regional differences in English are very interesting. This is one that I have never heard before. I am pretty sure that most Americans who grew up in the Northeast will think it is vulgar.

There are other examples of phrases that are vulgar in one English speaking country (or region) but not in another.

I speak Spanish as a second language. And and just like in English there are words that are very vulgar in one country but perfectly normal in another.

Thats right! Thanks for your comments !!

Yes, one hears natives uttering the unutterable all the time, to say nothing of the ineffable.

The etymon, somewhat unsurprisingly is:

Old English sucan "to suck," from a Proto-Germanic word of imitative origin (cognates: Old Saxon, Old High German sugan, Old Norse suga, Danish suge, Swedish suga, Middle Dutch sughen, Dutch zuigen, German saugen "to suck"), possibly from the same source as Latin sugere "to suck," succus "juice, sap;" Old Irish sugim, Welsh sugno "to suck;" see sup (v.2). As a noun from c. 1300.

Meaning "do fellatio" is first recorded 1928. Slang sense of "be contemptible" first attested 1971 (the underlying notion is of fellatio). Related: Sucked; sucking. Suck eggs is from 1906. Suck hind tit "be inferior" is American English slang first recorded 1940.
The old, old saying that the runt pig always sucks the hind teat is not so far wrong, as it quite approximates the condition that exists. ["The Chester White Journal," April 1921]

In polite circles the entire phrase is often elided and people make do with a simple "while you're down there", as the graphic below attests.

As a native British English speaker I can say that 'suck it and see' is a very common expression here, and has no automatic sexual connotation. It roughly carries the meaning of 'rather than speculating about a possible outcome, make the obviously possible direct test'.

NWOBHM band Grim Reaper had a song by that name in the 1980s. (If you don't recognize that genre, think Iron Maiden/Motörhead.)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Reaper_(band)


If I heard the term "suck it" in terms of sex, without context, I would presume that it referred to oral sex performed on male genitals.

However in this song it is clearly a female who is making the offer to "suck it and see". Exactly what "it" is, is not made clear in the song. If the song is interpreted in a ribald manner, I can think of several candidate female body parts.


I always took it as a brief funny song that was meant as an "up yours" at Tipper Gore (a busybody who was hassling bands about their lyrics at the time). It always reminded me of a dirty limerick. However, I just looked up the wiki page for the album that the song is on, and I see this:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_You_to_Hell

Innuendo aside.
It means - Taste/sense/experience it 'yourself' b4 you cast judgement.
'NSFW'?

Thanks for you comment! Where are you from? I'd like to know to see where that phrase is mainy used..

Not near me (Swansea).

Thanks for helping me. One more doubt. Can I use it in everyday speech or it would sound impolite?

I'd go with - "Don't knock it, till you try it".
But I loathe cliches - So would likely ignore you (politely) in Real-life.

Any place that was not already familiar with the idiom would probably view it as impolite.

I agree.
As would any 'generic' gesture be.

Link.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8IjRgcJNM

A: [Holding a lolly pop] Is this good/tasty/delicious?

B: Suck it and see.