Off topic: "Word a Day" Mailing List Funnies Thread poster: Taylor Kirk
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Taylor Kirk 
United States
Local time: 17:08
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Howdy All,
My mom is on the mailing list for one "Word a Day" and she forwards me funny comments like these. If anyone has already seen them I apologize. For the record, my favorite verbifications are: to Swift Boat, to railroad, and to punk! The creator of Calvin and Hobbes once said "Verbing weirds language." 
Taylor
From: <... See more Howdy All,
My mom is on the mailing list for one "Word a Day" and she forwards me funny comments like these. If anyone has already seen them I apologize. For the record, my favorite verbifications are: to Swift Boat, to railroad, and to punk! The creator of Calvin and Hobbes once said "Verbing weirds language."
Taylor
From: http://wordsmith.org/words/suspire.html
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--suspire
I am currently studying Mandarin in Beijing, and just this morning a
Brazilian colleague asked what the verb offspring of dirt was. With my
English worsening by the day (as my Mandarin improves by the night) I
was quick to respond "dirtify" -- which is even more complicated than
"to dirty" (this came to me only hours later.) It seems I *verbify*
nouns in moments of desperation, when my brain knows quite well that
the word does not exist, but is equally unwilling to cooperate and
produce the right word!
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--extirpate
Good old Adolf! After the German bombers completely eradicated Coventry, UK,
Hitler coined a new word for "extirpate" -- Koventrier: To Coventry. He then
broadcast to the English people that Germany would erase all their cities.
I can still hear the roars of approval from the gathered crowds.
Subject: Verbification
A word in fairly common use, at least in these parts and particularly in
the school district, is "certificated". It seems to mean the same thing as
"certified", but perhaps I'm missing a subtle distinction. Can it be that a
body certifies a person's fitness to teach, or perform some other certifiable
function -- that is, vouches for that person if anyone asks -- but
certificates that person when it actually issues the certificate? I can but
marvel.
Subject: Verbing!
It goes on in all its macabre glory, making us squirm with outraged delight.
This is going to be a hot topic.
My current "favourite" business concoction is laddered, but sportscasters
have some exquisite examples of blatant verbing: medalled, podiumed, and
personal-bested (or P-B-ed, for an even more disgusting alternative). Then
the military have their say with ruggedized and adjacentized. For a switch
on verb misuse, NASA are now able to orbit a satellite, a manoeuvre
magically contravening Newton's laws. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Taylor Kirk
United States
Local time: 17:08
Portuguese to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Are these considered verbifications? | Apr 30, 2008 |
On the same note, here in Houston we have the phrase "to pull an Enron". I was wondering, would this only be considered a verbification if we said "to Enron"? If so I'm going to keep using that until it catches on and makes it into the dictionary. He he.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 15:08
English to German
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In memoriam | Taylor Kirk
United States
Local time: 17:08
Portuguese to English
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TOPIC STARTER
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 15:08
English to German
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In memoriam |
I've noticed that President George W. Bush is particularly adept at verbificating.
Jenny
P.S. I once saw a clip on TV in which he said "Democracy is the misrepresentation of the people". Well, he should know. I've never noticed anyone else picking up on that particular gem.
[Edited at 2008-05-01 08:26]
| | | | Taylor Kirk
United States
Local time: 17:08
Portuguese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
He has contributed greatly to cultural heritage. I would like to have it known that he was born in Connecticut, making him ineligible for Texan citizenship as per the Texas Constitution, even though he was accidentally voted into office as governor awhile back. Twice. Ergo he has contributed to Connecticut's cultural heritage and is not a recognized Texan. Enjoy these gems:
VERBS
to misunderestimate
to hold an ally hostile
to put food on one's family
to g... See more He has contributed greatly to cultural heritage. I would like to have it known that he was born in Connecticut, making him ineligible for Texan citizenship as per the Texas Constitution, even though he was accidentally voted into office as governor awhile back. Twice. Ergo he has contributed to Connecticut's cultural heritage and is not a recognized Texan. Enjoy these gems:
VERBS
to misunderestimate
to hold an ally hostile
to put food on one's family
to get to the bottom of an answer
to preserve something for one's predecessor
to succeed with success
to ooch along
to use the Google on the Internets
to think beyond the immediate
to illegally violate a law
to sleep on the soil of a friend
to catapult propaganda
to predecease
ADVERBS
subliminally
Hispanically
NOUNS
decider
chicken-plucking factory
strategery
ride-herd
suicider
uninalienable rights
weapons-of-mass-destruction-related-activities
subsidation
Greecians
arbolist
cell-phone vampire (my favorite!) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:08
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
One of my pet aversions. Verb put becomes noun input, meaning what is put in, but in computerspeak, information is inputted rather than put in.
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NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 18:08
Member (2002)
French to English
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Moderator of this forum
A long time ago (I was still a child) I read in Reader's Digest's Points to Ponder a remark sent in by a reader: I think people who use words like input shold upshut.
Nancy
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 19:08
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Three here from Brazil:
despedeficar (to depediefy) = to convert a file from PDF into another format.
(This word, by the way, is pronounced /dee - pee - de - eff -eye/)
googlificação (googlification) = putting a site on Google.
desgooglificado (degooglified) = a site that is not on Google.
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