Sneak vs. Snuck

You learn something new every day.

Today at writers' group, I read a piece in which I used the word "snuck." Three of my dear writer friends expressed their deep dissatisfaction with the word, placing it in the same realm as "ain't." I'd no idea this was a hot button for people, so I looked it up and found this article, which seems to appease both parties.

Here's a bit of it:

Sneaked vs. snuck

Sneaked is the traditional past tense and past participle of sneak. Snuck is new, originating in the U.S. in the early 20th century, but it has become remarkably common across all major English varieties. People seem to like it, and it appears in even the most editorially scrupulous publications, so there is no basis for saying snuck is incorrect. It’s just new. English has many irregular verb forms, and adding one more won’t cause the language to explode.

In American news publications, sneaked is marginally more common than snuck, and in Canada snuck actually appears twice as often as sneaked. The two words are neck and neck in Australian and New Zealand publications, and in British publications sneaked is about twice as common as snuck. These figures are based on unscientific research, but it’s safe to say British writers shun snuck to a greater degree than the rest of us.

When in doubt, it’s usually better to go with the older form—sneaked, in this case—but there’s nothing wrong with using snuck. Just watch out for English traditionalists with peeves.

Sneaked vs. snuckSneaked is the traditional past tense and past participle of sneak. Snuck is new, originating in the U.S. in the early 20th century, but it has become remarkably common across all major English varieties. People seem to like it, and it appears in even the most editorially scrupulous publications, so there is no basis for saying snuck is incorrect. It’s just new. English has many irregular verb forms, and adding one more won’t cause the language to explode.

In American news publications, sneaked is marginally more common than snuck, and in Canada snuck actually appears twice as often as sneaked. The two words are neck and neck in Australian and New Zealand publications, and in British publications sneaked is about twice as common as snuck. These figures are based on unscientific research, but it’s safe to say British writers shun snuck to a greater degree than the rest of us.

When in doubt, it’s usually better to go with the older form—sneaked, in this case—but there’s nothing wrong with using snuck. Just watch out for English traditionalists with peeves.

So, sneaked vs. snuck. Do you have an opinion?