SCUZZ

noun Also written scuz (Youth Culture) In young people's slang (originally in the US): a disgusting person or thing; something or someone considered scuzzy. Etymology: Probably an abbreviated form of disgusting (representing the actual sounds pronounced in the second syllable when the word is drawn out to emphasize the speaker's revulsion); it has been suggested that it might however be a blend of scum and fuzz. History and Usage: Scuzz has been in spoken use among US teenagers since the sixties; it seems it first appeared in print in 1968, while the corresponding adjective scuzzy was recorded a year later. During the eighties scuzz became the basis for a number of compounds, proving that it had become established in the language: the most important of these were scuzzbag, scuzzball, and scuzzbucket, all nouns meaning 'a contemptible or despicable person' and also used as general terms of abuse. All of these variations on the same theme appeared during the mid eighties and started to become known outside the US in the late eighties. The quality of being scuzzy is scuzziness. He calls a minister a 'scuzzbag'. Time 11 July 1983, p. 72 In the larger picture, we're just a little green scuzz on the surface. Margaret Atwood Cat's Eye (1988; 1989 ed.), p. 230 Her cheating husband, Ernie, a crotch-grabber who brings new meaning to the word 'scuzzbucket'. Newsday 17 Sept. 1989, TV Plus section, p. 85