I'm perfectly capable of sucking on things and I'm not a. I can being offended by someone ing a a "cocksucker" casually, but suck? Nah. Lame, on the other hand, does have that meaning historiy. But how often does it get used now to mean "someone who can't walk" now? I think the meaning has shifted to the point where we don't think of its original meaning any more. A word like retarded, on the other hand, has not lost it's meaning of "mentally slow" so when it's used "jokingly" for people who are acting stupid, it's rather disrespectful to those who are mentally disabled. I those as different issues. Trivia time: lame (adj.). lama, from. *lamon (cf.. lami, Du.. lam, Ger. lahm "lame"), "weak-limbed," lit. "broken," from PIE base *lem- "to break" (cf.. lomiti "to break," Lith. luomas "lame"). Sense of "socially awkward" is attested from. Verb meaning "to make lame" is attested from. Lame-duck was originally (18c.) "any disabled person or thing;" modern sense of "public official serving out term after an election" first recorded in., attributed to Vice President, in reference to Col. Forney. Lame (n.) is first recorded. from: retardation , "fact or action of making slower in movement or time," from L. retardationem, from retardare "to make slow, delay, keep back, hinder," from re-, intensive prefix, + tardare "to slow" (- tardy). Retarded "mentally slow" first recorded. Retard (v.) first recorded , from. retarder (13c.); offensive noun meaning "stupid person" (with accent on first syllable) is from s slang.