Wednesday 8 August 2012

Verbing and Americanisms


We all hate verbing, but we don't hate all verbing...

“Fascinating the way they all cohese together – it’s like an avian lava lamp.” Chris Packham

We all hate:

Boating means carrying boat to the water, while scrutineering is the act of being inspected.” Times feedback on the Olympics Aug 4 2012

architect (architected)
de-risk
deaccession
(an object from a museum)
friend (Facebook)
front (the association was fronted by…)
gift
headquartered
inculturate
medalling
passivation
(from passivate? passivise?)
podiuming
premiere
(it premiered in…)
productionising
readying
stress
(don’t stress over…)
transition (to summer clothes, to a new life)
trialling 

So why don’t we object to: 
back (backed by, back out)
commentate
craft
deadhead
(your flowers)
edge (forward)
exercise (for take exercise)
float an idea
head (headed by)
interview (should I interview for a job? He interviewed well.)
landscape (the grounds have been landscaped)
laser (Everyone is lasering in on Eton Dorney. Olympics commentary Aug 1 2012)
leverage
parenting
piggyback
pomo
(give a modernist building a postmodern coating)
rain (it rained down, rain over some sugar)
rear-end (my car was rear-ended by a bike)
referenceSave water - bath with a friend!
stretcher (the victim was stretchered from the scene)
thrift (Here are six more bags to thrift!)
voice (an animated character)
zigzag (Jamie Oliver: zigzag it with olive oil)

And we don't mind nouning verbs or adjectives, either:

usage dwindle
mission creep
legislative creep
disconnect (there was a disconnect between X and Y)

invite (send him an invite)

pay (salary)  

creative (person who works in advertising)


Show me the funny.
That explains the crazy.
Get some hilarious into your life!



Americanisms 

One of the things you get used to hearing when you are an American living in Britain is that American will be the death of English. Bill Bryson, Notes from a Small Island, 1995
We all hate:

elevator for lift
grade for mark (school work)
pecs for pectorals
terminal for terminus
train line for railway line
train station

So why don’t we object to:

from the get-go
goosebumps
for goosepimples
gurney for hospital trolley
I’m OK with that
I’m comfortable with that
postal code
shout-out

small, medium or regular?
X, as in Y

More verbing here

More at Americanisms and Americanisms II.
And Americanisms III and IV.


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