scuzzy

See also: SCSI

English

Etymology

Probably a blend of scummy +‎ fuzzy 1960s, US, colloquial, expressive coinage, with influence from scum, fuzzy, lousy, sleazy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskʌ.zi/
• Homophone: SCSI

Adjective

scuzzy (comparative scuzzier, superlative scuzziest)

1. (colloquial) Dirty or grimy.

   a scuzzy toilet

   • 2012, Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture, Soft Skull Press, →ISBN, page 281:

     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 […]

2. (colloquial) Disreputable; sleazy.
   • 2015, Eva Dolan, Tell No Tales, Random House, →ISBN, page 167:

     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.

   • 2016 March 21, Allison P. Davies, “What I Learned Tindering My Way Across Europe”, in Travel + Leisure‎^[1], archived from the original on 2018-01-06:

     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.

Derived terms

• scuzz
• scuzzball
• scuzzbucket
• scuzzoid

 

References

• “scuzzy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.