This Column Sucks

You have pointed out many different meanings of "that sucks", but it may be that the most relevant is that "it takes my breath away" as in "that sucks wind"... The letter writer clearly had a different, more sexual assumption which probably makes him over 50.

Actually, no dictionary that you mention or link to connects the slang "suck" to fellatio. Sense 5 in American Heritage is clearly a different "suck," since the definition for what you're describing isn't included in that dictionary at all. Merriam-Webster does have the definition but doesn't mention fellatio at all. While it is still debated regularly, some linguists and lexicographers think that "sucks" as it is currently used, such as "Algebra sucks," without a direct object, is probably *not* derived from longer forms such as "Algebra sucks wingwongs" (euphemized to avoid granny filters). There's no question, however, the transitive and intransitive forms have had confluence, but whether that was at the start of "suck" being used in this way, or later in its varied existence, is impossible to say. There are similar terms, such as sucker, as in "Look at that sucker! That must be the biggest deer in the county!" or "Don't be a sucker, dude. It's obviously a scam." Chief Editor of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Jonathan Lighter, has written that he *does* think there was an obvious sexual origin to the intransitive "suck." Sociolinguist Ron Butters generally does not think ther eis enough evidence to make the connection and has written at length on this subject and had an article about it in the journal "Dictionaries" in 2001.

To add: "Sucker" doesn't seem ever hardly to draw complaints that it's obscene, probably because it isn't and not least because in slang uses it dates to at least as early as the 1860s. Part of the complaints we have here are about changing language, changing perceptions, and changing mores, which means while the etymology of a word is static, it is still unclear, and therefore open to reinterpretation as often current sensibilities permit.

Those in the "mixed" company I keep find it "acceptable" to "mention" the entire range of expression because, unlike Rich Ciolino, our development wasn't arrested at the Beavis and Butthead "she said ... heh heh" stage.

P.S. As
http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/English/facul...
puts it, 'the etymological connection between "X Sucks!" and fellatio is largely a folk etymology'.

Ask the FCC if you can say it on prime time.

It's morphed into something harmless, though prudish types might get offended by it.

We say something "sucks" in reference to sucking eggs (go figure). We also would use the phrase "he's an egg sucking dog" as a put down.

I know this thread is months old, but I found myself back on this article by an errant click. . . .

To add to the earlier "sucking wind" comment, there is a bad--although not heinously bad--connotation to that, or more accurately, "sucking air". For example, whenever something is being "sucked", it's either being pumped or vacuumed. And, when the medium being pumped falls beyond the intake orifice, then the object used is "sucking air". This is the same, for when you drink through a straw, but run out of liquid.

So, at that stage of pumping/vacuuming/drinking process, it can be said that the action is sucking to no benefit, or, "it's (just) sucking air", or more colloquially, "it sucks".

And, due to the connotation of being "bad", the term get applied as a criticism--regardless of whether any actual, physical work on a liquid, powder, or whatever is being done. That's just how language works.

Of course, I also grew up with the phrase, "sucks eggs", which to me is a euphemism for balls, or testicles (Consult your English/Spanish phrasebook for, "chupa mis juevos". More often heard, probably due to the consonation, would be "that sucks donkey [rhymes w/ sticks]", but I can't think of any way to euphemise that!

In a way, I think by using a common slang term, such as "that sucks" makes for more personal conversation. I, too, grew up with this being a rather benign phrase (though I was always admonished by my elders for using it), and when I hear people use it, it directly translates into "that's a real bummer."
Personally, when I vent to someone about something unfortunate that has happened in my life, a response of "that sucks," as long as it's not paired with an apathetic tone, is one of the most sympathetic things someone can say. In my opinion, it's much better than a default response such as, "I'm sorry," which always seems like the person doesn't care enough to come up with anything original or emotionally-charged in response.
It's largely a matter of culture. I can see how many would find this phrase offensive. However, if I were the teacher who was being cut sitting there, and the head of the school board gave a heart-felt "that sucks!" I would probably feel like she actually had enough sympathy for me to make such an outburst.