Do you still remember the summer that made you feel “suspicious” to everyone? _Among Us_, a seemingly simple game, not only redefines the trust between friends, but also adds two new usages to the English dictionary. Nowadays, “Sus” and “Vent” have already rushed out of the game circle and become the pass of the Internet era.
Walking into the classroom of any European and American school, you may hear such a conversation: “That new classmate is a little Sus” or “I Vented my math homework last night”. The teachers were confused, and the students looked at each other and smiled — this is the cultural heritage left by _Among Us_. From game terms to everyday terms, these two words have completed a wonderful linguistic “betrayal”.
The popularity of the word “Sus” is a miracle of language evolution. Originally, it was just an abbreviation of “Suspicious”, but now it has become an all-purpose label to describe all suspicious things. Is your friend ten minutes late? Sus. Is the lunch in the microwave missing? Super Sus. Even the dog at home who stole cat food can get the comment of “that’s kinda sus”. The magic of this word is that it not only makes jokes, but also maintains a reasonable space for doubt, perfectly adapting to the expression needs of the Internet era.
And the change in the meaning of “Vent” is even more dramatic. The original ordinary “ventilation duct” has become the exclusive channel of the insider in the game. When the first player climbed into the pipe and began to betray, the fate of the word was completely rewritten. Now, when someone says “I need to vent”, they may not be complaining about the air conditioning in the office, but hinting at a well-planned “betrayal”. This word even derives a new philosophical meaning — sometimes, the best way to solve the problem is to “disappear” temporarily.
On social media, these words are spread everywhere. Someone posted on Twitter: “I think my cat is very sus, it keeps staring at me”, and immediately gained thousands of likes with knowing smiles. On TikTok, the videos under the #vent tag are not all pipeline maintenance, but more people sharing their “little betrayal” moments. Even in the comment section of political news, someone left a message: “this congressman’s proposal is too sus”, which proves that these game terms have reached all corners of society.
The success of _Among Us_ tells us that the truly vital online culture is never deliberately created. Like “Sus” and “Vent”, the reason why they can break through the game circle is precisely because they capture the subtle emotions in modern people’s communication — the complex state between jokes and suspicion, venting and escape. When your mother began to use “Sus” to describe the expired milk in the supermarket, you knew that the game had been won.
Have you ever used these games in real life? Did you ever can’t help saying “This person is very Sus” when watching a suspense movie? Welcome to share your story in the comment section!
