For all intents and purposes, Sue Sylvester was the main antagonist of Glee. She spends most of her time on the show trying to mess with the New Directions, and even though she has her sporadic moments of kindness, she remains focused on destroying them until the bitter end.
Sue quickly became famous for several reasons, like her trademark tracksuits and tendency to throw vicious tantrums. Mostly, Sue became a fan favorite because of her sharp, witty, and merciless tongue. She spat savage insults with surprising ease, with Will Schuester being her favorite target. There are countless ways Sue burned the students and faculty of McKinley High, but some insults are more memorable than others.
"Hey Buddy, Got A Haircut? It Looks Awful"
Sue Sylvester loves making fun of Will Schuester's hair. She spits one too many elaborate insults his way, including suggesting little elves live inside his curly mane, birds lay sulfurous eggs on it, and that it has "enough product to season a wok."
After Will successfully exposes Sue for leaking the New Directions' Sectionals setlist, she gets suspended, and he believes he defeated her. However, she comes back angrier than ever, and the first thing she does is make fun of his hair. Will's expression is priceless, and even Principal Figgins looks like he wants to laugh.
"Are You Still At @FreakishBonyGinger At Gmail?"
While she doesn't hate her nearly as much as she does Will, Sue has no kind words for Emma either. Sue constantly mocks Emma's OCD, red hair, shy and proper demeanor, and skinny figure.
On one particular occasion, Sue arrives at the teacher's room and walks over to Will, Beiste, and Emma's table. After insulting Will and Beiste, she turns and asks if Emma is still "@freakishbonyginger at Gmail." Emma reacts in the most Emma way possible and chooses the high road, changing the conversation instead of confronting Sue.
"So, You Like Showtunes. That Doesn't Mean You're Gay, It Just Means You're Awful"
Sue always had a soft spot for Kurt. She even gives him the luxury of choosing his nickname from a list that includes "Gelfling" and "Tickle-Me-Doughface."
In Season 1, Kurt becomes jealous of all the time his father spends with Finn. He talks to Sue about it, telling her he believes that Burt is still uncomfortable with Kurt being gay. She then tells him he's too young to know for sure, saying that liking show tunes doesn't make him gay, just awful. It's hilarious that Sue still feels the need to insult Kurt while trying to help him, but that's just who she is.
"You Two Losers Are Always In That Choir Room"
As Glee went on, it became more and more meta until it reached a point where it was actively making fun of itself. In season 5, Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale were two of the only cast members to appear in every episode, and the writers had no problem with pointing it out.
During a meeting in Principal Figgins' office, Sue points out that Tina and Artie are always there, even if they have nothing to do but say "Kitty's right," or "Blaine, are you serious?" The line is the epitome of "it's funny because it's true," even if it's also shameless proof that the writers did both Tina and Artie so dirty.
"Hey Buddy, I Thought I Smelled Failure"
During their early confrontations, especially in season one's first thirteen episodes, Sue and Will were openly antagonistic toward each other. Their relationship improves as the show goes on, but they hate each other in the beginning.
When Will learns that Sue leaked New Directions' setlist for Sectionals, he angrily confronts her. She answers his calls by saying she "thought she smelled failure." At that point, Will wasn't ND's coach because he got suspended, and Sue calling him a failure was just an extra kick for the already wounded man.
"I'm Secretly Hoping It's A Midlife Crisis, Which Means You're Halfway To An Early Death"
In the first Britney Spears tribute episode, Mr. Schuester is against the kids performing her music because he doesn't consider her an appropriate role model. In an extremely rare moment, Sue actually agrees with him.
That doesn't change her attitude towards Will though, and she tells him that he's flailing and that she secretly hopes he's having a midlife crisis, and therefore halfway to an early death. She even goes so far as to say she'll have a "blissful, demented convalescence by peeing on (his) grave."
"Your Resentment Is Delicious"
Emma plays Sue's little insult game during one of their first dialogues in the series. When Sue begins to brag about her Cheerios' many accomplishments to Will, Ken, and Emma, the guidance counselor decides to push back.
"Since when are cheerleaders performers?" she asks, to Will and Ken's shock. Sue stares back at her, stone-faced as she replies, "Your resentment is delicious." Jane Lynch's quiet, almost sinister delivery makes the line even funnier and one of her best comebacks in the show.
"I'm Reasonably Confident You'll Be Adding 'Revenge' To The Long List Of Things You're Not Good At"
Sue names the many things Will isn't good at during the same confrontation where she calls him a failure. These include "being married, running a high school Glee club, and finding a hairstyle that doesn't make (him) look like a lesbian."
Sue goes so far as to push Will and dares him to do something. "You're not gonna push a woman, are you?" she asks, smiling with pleasure at his anger. As far as Sue's most wicked moments in the show go, this one is at the very top.
"I Won't Be Burying Any Hatchets, William, Unless I Happen To Get A Clear Shot To Your Groin"
Sue returns angrier than ever after Will gets her suspended for leaking New Directions' Sectionals setlist. He tries to tell her they should "bury the hatchet," but she says the only place where she'll bury it is in his groin.
While she is a pretty mean person, she's also undeniably hilarious. Even her insults have a laugh-out-loud quality that often goes unnoticed by the characters, but that fans adore. Her witty yet mean-spirited words always make audiences cry, but they would make anyone shed a tear in the real world too.
All Of Her Nicknames
Sue seldom calls anyone by their real name. Instead, she makes up numerous, often insulting nicknames for everyone, and she doesn't even bother to show any regret from doing so.
She calls Will "Weepy, the Vest Clown," "Buttchin," and "Sponge-hair Square-chin," to name a few. She refers to Emma as "Bird-lady," "Bony red-headed hominid," and "Little Miss Golden Marmoset." After Santana's breast surgery, Sue calls her "Sandbags" and "Jugs, the Clown." She also calls Artie "Stumbles," Brittany "Tweedle-Dumb," Sam "Kentucky Fried Stripper," and Blaine "gay, shaven, teenage Tom Selleck."