Sus
Short for 'suspicious' โ the catchphrase of the Among Us pandemic gaming boom, briefly the most-used slang word among teenagers.
Origin
Among Us launched quietly in 2018 from a tiny indie studio and went nowhere for two years. In summer 2020 โ quarantine, every Twitch streamer looking for a multiplayer party game โ it exploded into the dominant game of the COVID lockdown. The setup: a crew aboard a spaceship completes tasks while one or two 'imposters' kill the others. Everyone has to discuss who they think is the imposter; the imposter lies. 'Sus' (suspicious) was the in-game tactical accusation that escaped into general teenage speech: 'that's sus,' 'you're sus,' 'kinda sus.' By 2021 'sus' was in mainstream dictionaries.
Modern usage
Standard teen-and-younger slang for 'suspicious' or 'questionable.' Often used about behavior ('that's sus') with no implication of secret-imposter status โ it has fully detached from its source. Older internet users use it ironically, knowing the etymology.
In the wild
He left the meeting right when his name came up. Sus.โ common usage
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