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These two sentence variations annoy me immeasurably.

Earlier I squashed a bug.

Earlier I squished a bug.

Neither get a red underline, and I normally hear squish not squash, even though I've grown up saying squash.

So, which is more correct and has been used for a longer period? Is there a difference between squash and squish, and which dialects use each variant? Etymologically, how did they develop, considering they have such a similar sound?

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    Have you looked up the etymology of squish? You will find the answer if you do.
    – Mick
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 20:29
  • Depends on the bug You squish a worm, but squash a cockraoch. ; (
    – user175542
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 20:55
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    Personally, I use squash for flattening something, and squish more for squeezing, especially if there's going to be an associated gloopy, squirting sort of action or sound.
    – 1006a
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 21:02
  • Squash is the original, squish is an immitator
    – Jasen
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 23:10
  • Squoosh was also mentioned in one answer, but what about squush? (I assume anybody reading this will agree with me that the alternate spelling sqush is an abomination.)
    – TonyK
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 23:47

2 Answers 2

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The following interesting extract from "The New York Times Magazine" traces the origin of "squash" and its later variants like squish and squoosh. Their onomatopoeic origin probably contributed to their usage and dialectal diffusion:

The oldest term is squash:

  • Squash, formed from the Vulgar Latin exquassare -- ex- ("out") and quassare ("to shake") -- was first on the scene in 1565, meaning "to press into a flat mass," and it gained an extended meaning of "to suppress." (Yes, the name of the racquet game comes from the sound of a ball being momentarily mashed, flattened or squashed by a racquet. No, the vegetable that Martha Stewart grows in her window box comes from a shortening of the Narragansett word askutasquash.)

Squish appeared about a century later in 1640, probably a variant of squash (Etymonline):

  • Only a century later, squish appeared both as an alternative to squash and with special reference to the soft, damp sound made by the act of pressing a boot into mud. Other variants of this onomatopoeic verb are squush, more recently spelled squoosh, and smoosh, as in "You can try jamming your garment bag into that overhead bin, Buster, but you better not smoosh down my fur hat."

Despite its usage squish is still a less common variant of squash Ngram:

  • The use of the i instead of the a is widespread: in 1970, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew derided radical liberals as squishy-soft, and a few years ago, a telephonic friend of Princess Diana used Squidgy as a term of endearment. (Perhaps that is rooted in squeeze, as is the window-cleaning instrument squeegee, and is beyond the purview of squash-squish analysis, because the Princess did not say she preferred "Squadgy.")

Which is correct, squish or squash?

  • Wrong question, because in words imitating sounds, latitude is given to variants.

  • The Standard English word for the sound made by crushing a bug is squash; legitimate dialectal variants are squish and squoosh......

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  • Perfect...... +1
    – Centaurus
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 21:47
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    The evidence is interesting, but does the conclusion follow from it? So far I think the evidence suggests squash is the more proper variant, since it was intended to describe the action of flattening the bug, rather than being the name of the sound that the bug makes while it is being flattened, and this sentence structure calls for a verb, rather than a noun.
    – Tonepoet
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 21:57
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    Personally, I have never heard of squoosh, nor has my spellchecker, which is insisting I choose between squish and squash.
    – BladorthinTheGrey
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 22:16
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    @BladorthinTheGrey - Squash, squish, and squoosh! : The verb squoosh is much newer. It does not show up until the first half of the 20th century. Most dictionaries that include it – and not all dictionaries include it yet — will say it’s a variant of squash. It is, of course, also very much like squish. michigantoday.umich.edu/squash-squish-squoosh
    – user66974
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 22:18
  • Squish, squash, I was smooshing a bug...
    – Mazura
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 22:23
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"Squashing a bug" a bug tends to imply stepping on it, or more abstractly, the object being squashed is set upon a stationary surface and the object is then pushed against that surface by a movable surface, (i.e. a bootheel, or flyswatter).

"Squishing a bug" a bug tends to imply pinching, or more abstractly, the object being squished is set between two opposing movable surfaces and the object is then pushed against, (and possibly sheared), from both sides.

Citations pending...

(Yechh...!)

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    Does it make any difference to the bug?
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 21:50
  • @HotLicks, it might... if the stationary squashed upon surface is somewhat malleable, (a dirt path), and the bug has a sturdy shell, it might be merely embedded in the surface, and survive a squashing. Surviving a squishing sadly seems less likely.
    – agc
    Commented Dec 18, 2016 at 21:56

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