The Verbing of America
This is a collection of new and old verbs that I have found interesting. There are so many verb sightings these days that lately I've been restricting new additions to verbs that appear in print or on television or radio unless they are in wide use or particularly interesting. There seems to be an epidemic of verbing. Some people seem to have no control over it.
Feel free to submit your own favorite verbings through the "contact" link at the top or bottom of this page. Please check the list first to make sure your verb isn't already here.
Here's a fun document on Verbed Nouns, Nouned Verbs, and other interesting creatures sent to me by Howard Sprenger of IBM UK.
The English language can be a dark and murky body of water, especially if you're not fully prepared to swim. If education is your passion, consider enriching your language base with a degree from one of this site's sponsors: Purdue University Masters of Education Online.
New and not-so-new Verbs
Verb - see below
A la mode - to add ice cream to an order of pie. From the
Mother's-Day menu of Little Ocsar's restaurant in Hampton: "you may a la
mode a piece of pie for free."
Action - To do. From a corporate memo -- "Dave, can you action this
for me?"
Actress - To act. From a Newsweek article on the Jon
Benet Ramsey case: "It was more than just actressing, Patsy was very
charming."
Adrenalize - To frighten. From a television report on a survivor of a shark
attack: "I was completely adrenalized."
Advantage - To put in a more favorable position or provide benefit to. From the
St. Paul Pioneer Press: "The new regulations are expected to advantage the
Canadian resorts."
Adjectify - To have one's name used as an adjective. From Time Magazine:
"A search of the Nexus database reveals him [Bill Clinton] to be the most adjectified
Chief Executive of recent years."
Airborne - To ship by air. From an IBM internal memo: "tickets can be
prepaid or airborned to the employee's home."
Alarm - To be equipped with an alarm. Sign on the front of a building: "No
exiting after 6 p.m. This door is alarmed."
Amway - To sell Amway products with annoying vigor. "You were right about
why Betty and Fred wanted to have us over: they Amwayed us."
Anita-Hill - To criticize someone for acting like the members of the Thomas
confirmation committee. William Safire: "If you are a member of a congressional
committee worried about appearing insensitive, or getting Anita-Hilled, you worry
about political fallout raining down on interrogators who allow villains to play
victims."
Appleize - To make sure that a comparison is appropriate (i.e.
"apples to apples"). "Let's appleize this comparison before we take it
too seriously."
Articulate - To use sophisticated language. Sonny Bono on the Charles Grodin
show, describing a colleague: "He can articulate beautifully and sometimes he articulates
so well that he loses people."
Atmosphere - To create a particular atmosphere in. We try to atmosphere
our store so that people will feel comfortable there.
Averted (to) - disgusted by. Helen Hunt on the Letterman
show: "I'm now so averted to pigs."
Award - To give an award to. From a sign at the entrance to the Green Mill
restaurant: "Minnesota's Most Awarded Pizza."
Aware - To tell. From a sign on a cash register: "Please Aware the
cashier if you have a gift certificate."
Awfulize - To engage in negative and unrealistic self-talk. From the web article How to stop Awfulizing: "For individuals who awfulize, activities of daily living can be significantly impaired by the overwhelming sense of failure and demise."
Back-burner - To put off. From a St. Paul Pioneer Press article on actor/director
Jason Alexander: "Directing is a career goal Alexander had been back-burnering
for years."
Beer - To provide beer. "Beer me baby!
It's beer o'clock." Contributed by
Mark Peterson
Betty Crocker - To eliminate or reduce the visibility of a corporate
spokesperson. From the New York Times: "Orville Redenbacher is inexorably being Betty
Crockered.
Bloviate - To orate verbosely and windily. "I'm so sick of these
congressional Bloviators." Also, from a Newsweek article on Colin Powell by
Joe Klein: "Traditionally, Republicans have been truly despicable on race, and there
are more than a few stalwarts who continue to bloviate disingenuously in support of
a 'colorblind' society, by which they mean a tacit relapse into segregation."
Blunt - To fill a cigar (originally a Phillie Blunt) with tobacco. From a Cigar
magazine: "Tobacconists are being penalized for blunting, an increasingly
popular practice in which teenagers replace the filler tobacco of machine-made cigars with
marijuana."
Blurb - To write a short promotional statement for a book jacket.
From university professor Gerald Early, "On the whole, it was intelligently
written. So that's why I decided to blurb it."
Bobbit - To work on one's slice.
Bobbitize - To shorten by cutting: "Jim, this article is too long. We're
going to have to Bobbitize it."
Bork - To treat someone like Robert Bork. From a New Yorker article on
Laurence Tribe: "Indignant conservatives ...said their man had been Borked."
Bulletize - To add graphic bullets to a printed list. "Your report has been bulletized
and put into outline form.
Buttle - to perform the services of a butler. Carole
Lombard to William Powell in the film "My Man Godfrey:" "Can you buttle?"
Calendar - To mark on a calendar. A trial reminder from a local law firm: "
Please calendar said date and time, and plan to attend this trial."
Casketize - To place in a casket. From a funeral home employee:
"I'll casketize her this afternoon and you can come by later to see how
she looks.
Casualize - To make more casual. An employeee of bass Shoes: "America
continues to casualize itself."
Catfish - To entrap into a romantic relationship by creating a fake social media identity. From a newspaper advice column: : "My mom has been catfishing a guy inline and I don't know what to do."
Caveat - To qualify or rescind a previous statement. From an FBI spokesperson
discussing the investigation of Flight 800: "I'm going to caveat that by
saying that we haven't completed our analysis so we can't say for sure that it was a
bomb."
Center-aisle - To get married. From How Right You Are Jeeves
by P.G. Wodehouse (1960): "There's nobody I'd rather see you center-aisle-ing with."
Chef - To run a restaurant kitchen. From the Huffington Post: "[she is] a person efficacious enough to create, run, and chef a fine restaurant"
Chunk - To combine into a single unit. Readers can chunk the number
'1231492' into two easy parts, 123 and 1492.
Chunk - To separate into discrete pieces. From Misrosoft's description of their
Platform SDK: "We've chunked the Microsoft Platform SDK so that you can
download only those parts that you need."
Cigarette - To give someone a cigarette. Katharine Hepburn to Cary Grant in the
movie "Bringing Up Baby:" "Cigarette me."
Clutch - To drive a car with a standard transmission. Marlo Thomas, in an episode
of 'That Girl:' I've never driven anything but an automatic. I've never clutched in
my life."
Cochranize - to turn a phrase, usually a rhyming couplet, like Johnny Cochrane
did in the OJ trial when he said of the glove, "If it doesn't fit, you must
acquit."
Coffee Talk - to talk over coffee. A headline from the Shoreview Press:
"Mayor coffee talks with citizens."
Commoditize - To treat as a commodity. A doctor interviewed on '60 Minutes'
discussing the disadvantages of HMO's said "We are being commoditized."
Continentalize - To make more impressive by using foreign words. From
a book of advice for restaurateurs: "continentalize your menu."
Compassionating - Giving compassion. From Thackeray's Vanity Fair:
"Many and Many a time this good-natured lady, compassionating the forlorn
life-guardsman's condition, gave him an opportunity of seeing Miss Sharp at the rectory
...."
Complexify - To complicate. To make more complex. From an administrator at the
University of Minnesota: "I don't want to complexify this situation any more
than I have to."
Computer - To translate into machine readable form. Current usage: "Please English
this up for me and I'll give it to someone to Computer.
Concertize - to play an instrument. From a Minnesota Guitar Society brochure
describing Scott Tennant: "Mr Tennant is a founding member of the L.A. Guitar
Quartet, with which he concertizes much of the year."
Concise down - To reduce or condense. Johnny Cochrane was quoted as saying that
the Simpson defense team "should be able to concise down their arguments to
about a day."
Condiment - To put condiments on. From a sign in a MPLS. Dairy Queen: "Our
hamburgers are condimented with ..."
Cone [off] - To restrict access by placing plastic cones as a barrier. A note
from the production company for the film 'Grumpier Old Men' warns: "We will be coning
off the street tomorrow."
Consent - To obtain a signed concent form from. Overheard at a hosipital: "After you've consented the patient in 3B, ask me about last night."
Consequence - To punish. From the Minneapolis Star Star Tribune: "The kids were consequenced . . . the students received suspensions ranging from one to 10 days.$quot;
Constellate - To gather [around]. Elmore Leonard's book Get Shorty refers
to "all the no-talent schmucks that constellate around the studio execs who
don't know what they're doing either."
Credential - To award credentials. From a college "English" department
proposal: "with an emphasis in college teaching,...our graduates would be more
clearly credentialed as having professional expertise in an area that would support
their pursuits as college teachers."
Credentialize - To put one officially in charge. From a management seminar:
"Be sure to have your boss credentialize you so people will know that you're
in charge and can handle situations in his/her absence."
Cul-de-sac - To turn a through street into a dead-end street. From a local
newspaper: "we will be cul-de-sacing one of the boulevards to promote
safety."
CUSTOMERIZE(sm) - To maximize service to the public. From a Unisys advertisement:
"Our clients know we do more than supply technology.... We work with them to CUSTOMERIZE(sm)
their operations. (CUSTOMERIZE is a service mark of Unisys Corportation.)"
Database - To use a computer database. "I use my computer mostly for databasing."
Datify - To provide with access to information. KNOW project to bring the
Internet to rural areas: "This would come under the heading of 'rural datafication.'"
Deaccession - To get rid of an art object. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York: "we will be deaccessioning some of these works in July."
Death - To die in style. From the book title: "Deathing: an
Intelligent Alternative for the Final Moments of Life," by Anya Foos-Graber.
Also, from the nursing textbook, Holistic Nursing: "Deathing is
defined as 'the conscious preparation for the moment of death.'"
Death-where-is-thy-sting - To express extreme emotional upheaval. P.G. Wodehouse
in How Right You Are Jeeves (1960). "His blood pressure was high, his eye rolled in what they call
a fine frenzy, and he was death-where-is-thy-stinging like nobody's business."
Delift - To lower after having raised. In testimony over Minnesota's Boundary
Waters Wilderness Area Jennifer Hunt said: "The U.S. Senate is using our northern
Minnesota resources to test whether or not they can delift and downgrade the
protected status of very unique resources...."
Demagogue - To use an issue for political advantage or to attack a political
opponent. Ewe Rhinehart speaking on health care as quoted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
"I'm sure the Democrats will demagogue it, and in a way you can't blame them.
They were demagogued for two years. Let's face it--the Republicans left a certain
legacy, and now they'll get demagogued back."
De-nut - To castrate. Ben Bradlee discussing Nixon's attitude
toward "Deep Throat:" He would have de-nutted him if he found out who
it was."
Deputy-hostess - To stand in as a hostess. From How Right You Are Jeeves
by P.G. wodehouse (1960): "She has asked me to deputy-hostess for her till her return."
Disfellowship - To expel from a religious order. From a newspaper article on the Jehovah's Witnesses: "William Bowen, a former church official and the founder of the silent-lambs, said he was 'disfellowshipped' -- or excommunicated -- after a short hearing July 24."
Disable - To classify as disabled. In a letter from an insurance company:
"We have received information that you have disabled our client.""
Dishwasher - To wash in a dishwasher. From the instructions on a glue tube:
"May be dishwashered in two to three days."
Disneyized - Meaning unclear. From Time Magazine: "Americans may be tuning
out the news...because they don't trust its homogenized premise of objectivity, especially
when Disneyized, Murdochized, Oprahized and Hard Copyized."
Doing - Engaging in. From a recruiting advertisement for the Sisters of St.
Joseph of Carondelet: "We invite you to Partner with us for social change. We
invite you to Membership with us as a sister or consociate member. We are women doing
Theology."
Door - To injure someone by opening a vehicle door in their path. "Bicycle
messengers say that their worst fear is of being doored."
Dollarize - To compute a value in dollars. "It is important that we dollarize
the extent of the remaining inventory."
Drudge - To engage in drudgery. From Smokey Robinson's
autobiography, Inside My Life: "In
spite of everything, however, mama drudged on."
Dumpsterize - To put in a dumpster. From a sign on the back door of a Minneapolis
theater: "Please flatten your boxes before dumpsterizing them.
Effort - To attempt. From a KSTP Television news story: "We are efforting
a news story on the fire in Minneapolis."
Ellipse - To omit or delete material from text. From an article by an editor of a
history book: "And did we ellipse in certain places? Of course we
did."
Engage - To kill or attempt to kill. From a military captain, the leader of an elite
sniper squad, in Iraq: "Basically, we would put an [explosive or ammunition] item out there and watch it. If someone found
the item, picked it up and attempted to leave with the item, we would
engage the individual."
English - To translate into English. Common in the 17th century before the word
"translate" became popular.
English (2) - To translate into correct English. Current usage: "Please English
this up for me and I'll give it to someone to Computer."
Eventize - To make an event of. From Fox Broadcasting chairman
David Hill: "Network television has become all about eventizing
programming." "Imax releases help to eventize a film even above and beyond what they already are."
Evolutionize - To evolve. Tom DeLay in Harpers magazine: "our school
systems teach the children that they are nothing but glorified apes who are evolutionized
out of some primordial soup of mud.
Extinct - To cause the extinction of. "Who started to extinct the elephants?" "When did the dodo bird get extincted?"
Entrepreneur - To handle successfully: "their skills are not sufficient to
allow them to entrepreneur the situation."
Excess - To give away. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "The army never said
it was going to excess any property."
Expire - To pass. From the Regal Bread Machine manual: "Make sure the yeast has not expired
the use by date"
Facade - To put up a false front. Carmella on The Sopranos:
"They have to face all these years of facading."
Facing (aisles) - To straighten and neaten items on store shelves.
"I'll do the floors while you face the aisles.
Farewell - To say goodbye to. From a Reuters article by Steve
James: "Hollywood farewells Jimmy Stewart."
Favre -To send nude photos of one's self that later become public. From a comment on The Huffington Post by Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID): "Bobby Petrino nude photos are coming. Prepare yourselves. He Favred himself.
Fiesta - To party. From Ernest Hemmingway's The Sun also Rises: "I
wished I had gone up to Paris with Bill, except that Paris would have meant more fiesta-ing."
Finalize - To finish: "We expect to have this finalized by the end of
the month."
Fletcherize - To chew thoroughly. In the late 1800s, food faddist, Horace
Fletcher advised people to chew each bite of their food 32 times. From The Adventures of Sally,
by P.G. Wodehouse: "The raffish mongrel was apparently endeavouring to fletcherize
a complete stranger of the Sealyham family."
Flute - To speak in a high, lilting voice. P.G. Wodehouse in How Right You
Are Jeeves (1960): "'He's asking for his dinner, the sweet little angel. All right, darling,
Mother's coming,' she fluted, and buzzed off on the errand of mercy."
Fraud - To commit fraud. From a telemarketer: "Do you realize that
you could be frauded on your credit card."
Funeralize - To hold or attend funeral services for. From a business memo:
"I will be out of the country next week to funeralize my grandmother."
Also, WCCO radio reported that Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich would be "funeralized
on Monday morning."
Heimlich - To perform the Heimlich maneuver. From David Letterman: "Heimlich
me Paul."
Game - To Plan. From a Time Magazine report on the Clinton campaign:
"Ickes and Doug Sosnik, the White House Political Director, are already Gaming
out electoral strategies.
Gangrene - To become corrupt or rotten. From Stendhal's Charterhouse
of Parma (1839 - Richard Howard's translation): "His brother, that vain soul gangrened
by the vilest selfishness, wrote him a more or less official letter of congratulation, to
which was attached a draft for fifty thousand francs, so that he might, said the new
Marchese, purchase horses and a carriage worthy of his name."
Garbage - To discard rather than recycle something. "We can't recycle the
carbon paper, should we just garbage it?
Guest - To appear as a guest. "Phil also guests on national radio and
television programs . . ..?
Gaudify - To make gaudy.
Good-news - To give someone good news. Walter Brennan in the movie 'Red River:'
"Never like seein' strangers. Guess it's 'cause no stranger ever good-newsed
me."
Green - To make more ecological or ecologically conscious.
"Congressional Leaders Announce Plans to 'Green the Capitol.'
"
Grep - To search a text file for a string literal using the grep program.
"I took a quick look and didn't find it so we'll have to grep for it."
Gretskyize - To repeatedly alter the record books by setting records. Al Michaels
on Monday Night Football: "Jerry Rice is really Gretskyizing the record
books."
Grunt - To coax worms from the ground by rubbing an iron bar across a wooden peg. From The Tallahassee Democrat: "Wild About Wakulla Week starts from the ground up with Worm Gruntin'"
Gutenberg - To render in electronic form as part of Project Gutenberg. "Has
William James been Gutenberged?"
Hanksing - Acting like Tom Hanks. From a review of the movie, "The
Truman Show:" "Truman (Jim Carey, Hanksing his way into his first
dramatic role) lives in a wierdly serene community."
Hard Copyized - Meaning unclear. From Time Magazine: "Americans may
be tuning out the news...because they don't trust its homogenized premise of objectivity,
especially when Disneyized, Murdochized, Oprahized and Hard
Copyized."
Heirloom - To preserve in good condition. From n formal wear
company advertisement: "After the wedding, clean and preserve your precious
gown. Heirloom it now."
Hopper - To play a role as Dennis Hopper would. From a review of the movie,
"Broken Arrow:" "Travolta doesn't Hopper it--he doesn't overdo the
leering wisecracks and hissed threats ...."
Hourglass - To wait. "If you've been hourglassing on your computers,
just wait a few minutes and we should have the problem fixed."
HTML - To render something in hypertext markup language. "Just HTML
it up (a document) and I'll put it on the Web."
Image - To make an image. From one of Jane Austen's poems: "Oh how can I her
person try to image and portray...?"
Incense - To perfume with incense. From the Funeral Mass in the Catholic Joy
and Praise Hymnal: "the priest will sprinkle holy water on the casket and incense
it."
Incent - To provide incentives to. "Managers are finding new ways to incent
their employees to encourage them to do their best work"
Incentify - To reward. From a United Airlines spokesperson: "I
think there are better ways to incentify business travelers."
Inderdict - To sieze drugs during an attempt to smuggle them across a national
border. Original meaning: to forbid by decree.
Input - To fill out part of a form. "The patient's last name should be inputted
in the 'last name' field.
Inservice - To train. From a PTA newsletter: "teachers are being inserviced
as to what resources are available on the Internet."
Instantize - To create a version of a product that can be prepared in a
relatively short time. From a headline in the St. Paul Pioneer Press over an
article on preparing wild rice: "Today's instantized products take the
time-consuming tedium out of preparing this local favorite."
IPO - To transform into a publicly held company. From a business magazine:
"Lycos hired their CEO in June and IPO'd ten months later."
Intercap - To put capital letters in the middle of a word, i.e.
"WordPerfect," or "LucasArts."
Invoke - To assert one's right to an attorney when in jail. From a jail transcript:
"He's already invoked so we have to stop recording."
Jaguarize - To make more like a Jaguar automobile. From Road and Track
magazine: "Jaguar bosses are said to be looking into making a Jaguarized Ford
Explorer."
Just-friends - To reject a suitor by telling them you just want to be friends with
them. "I thought we had something going but she just-friendsed me."
Kiester - To hide something where the sun don't shine. From a
prison guard: "Someone in segregation was caught kiestering a lighter."
Keroacked - Lived in the manner of Jack Keroac. From a Time
Magazine article on Russell Banks: "at 16, he had stolen a car and
Keroacked off to California.
Kettled - Boiled. A Bruegger's sign refers to their product as being "kettled
and baked the old-fashioned way."
Kevorkian - To assist in a suicide. "You work in a nursing home; have you
ever Kevorkianed one of your patients?"
Kiboze - To search an entire newsfeed for a string literal (usually one's name)
using the grep program. Named for net-God James "Kibo" Perry who
pioneered the concept--see the USENET newsgroup: alt.religion.kibology. "I Kibozed
today's newsfeed and got 23 hits."
Lamp - To install lamps in. From a corporate memo: Track Magazine: "offices,
corridors, and public spaces are being lamped.
Landslide - To elect by a wide margin. Bob Dole, on President Clinton: "I'm
really concerned the people of America are going to landslide this guy."
Language - To speak. From a therapist on the Oprah show: "The
victim [pf child abuse] was languaging about what had happened to her
as a child."
Lawyer Out - To avoid being held in jail by using the services of a lawyer. In
three consecutive episodes of "NYPD Blue," fear was expressed that two suspects
would lawyer out and that another would lawyer up.
Lawyer Up - To obtain the services of a lawyer. In three consecutive episodes of
"NYPD Blue," fear was expressed that two suspects would lawyer out and
that another would lawyer up.
Lawyer (2) - To have a news report checked by lawyers prior to publication or
broadcast. "Has this piece been Lawyered yet?" "Did anything get Lawyered
out of my piece?"
Letter - To send a letter to. From the minutes of a homeowner's board meeting:
" It was decided to letter all owners to explain out decision."
Lewinsky - To ignore because attention is elsewhere. From a newspaper article on
Marian Wright Edelman. "In '98, we were focused on child care," Edelman recalls.
"We got a coalition together; we go the administration to put money in its budget.
Then we all got Lewinskyed. The momentum on child care dribbled away like
the momentum on everything else."
Liaise - To communicate with on a regular basis. From the Wall Street Journal:
"The interior operatives regularly liaise with intelligence and law
enforcement agents."
Locker - To use a locker. Jason Kendall, a rookie catcher, referring to his
team-mate,veteran Ozzie Smith: "He's the best short-stop to play the game and I'm lockering
next to him."
Lovelify - To make more atrractive. An advertisment for Mrs. Graham's Cucumber
and Elder Flower Cream printed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press of October 13th, 1901 claims
that the cream "lovelifies the woman."
Mail - To send mail to. From a Damark catalog: "If we don't hear from you
soon, we can't keep mailing you."
Marmalade - To apply marmalade. P.G. Wodehouse in Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves:
"I marmaladed my toast."
Medal - to win a medal. From a St. Paul Pioneer Press article on the olympics:
"Brandon Paulson--who medaled in Greco-Roman Wrestling and Brianna Scurry--who
medaled in women's soccer--talked about making an investment in their dreams."
Membership - Join. From a recruiting advertisement for the Sisters of St. Joseph
of Carondelet: "We invite you to Partner with us for social change. We invite
you to Membership with us as a sister or consociate member. We are women doing
Theology."
Menendezization - To change the traditional standards of personal
responsibility?. A law journal article refers to "the Menendezization of tort
law."
Milleniumize - To fix errors in computer programs or silicon chips that will
cause trouble at the turn of the century. From an article by Michael Finley: "PC
makers may mail the chips to users or to dealers, who will make hay charging you $100 a
shot to millenniumize your system."
Monday-morning-quarterback - To criticize errors unfairly with the benefit of
hindsight. From a newspaper article on shooting problem bears: "The officers made the
decision they had to make. We can monday-morning-quarterback them to death, but
they have to make that call."
Mousing - Using a computer mouse. From an advertisement for a
mouse pad: "This pad helps distribute pressure more evenly for ultimate
comfort when mousing."
Murdochized - Meaning unclear. From Time Magazine: "Americans may be tuning
out the news...because they don't trust its homogenized premise of objectivity, especially
when Disneyized, Murdochized, Oprahized and Hard Copyized."
Nasdaq - To decline precipitously. From the New York Times:
"The stock market isn't the only thing that's Nasdaqing these
days."
Napkinize - To place a napkin next to. Overheard in a cafe in Marine on St.
Croix: "Would you like me wrap that up, or should I napkinize it?"
Nostalgize - To remind one of an earlier time. From a Time Magazine review
of "The Brady Bunch Movie" : "the trend is to nostalgize people
about their youth".
Nuptial - (with "up") To get married. "I hear you're getting nuptialed
up."
Obsolete - To declare obsolete and/or get rid of. "All remaining inventory
will be Obsoleted. Also, from an advertisement in the New York Times: "Obsolete
your broker."
Office - 1) To occupy an office. From a college administrator's memo: "Susan
will office in Science 221. 2) Meaning unclear. From an advertisement for
Kinko's Copy Service: "Kinko's, It's the new way to Office."
Open-architecture - To give or make available. "We're going to open-architecture
this to the world. We're not going to keep it to ourselves."
Oprahized - Meaning unclear. From Time Magazine: "Americans may be tuning
out the news...because they don't trust its homogenized premise of objectivity, especially
when Disneyized, Murdochized, Oprahized and Hard Copyized."
Outdating - To declare discard as obsolete. From an American
Red Cross publication: "The discrarded blood will be burned. We estimate that
we will be outdating about 10% or more of the amount collected in
September."
Out-athlete - to outperform during an athletic event. From an ESPN football commentator: "Minnesota was able to out-athlete them.".
Out-quick - to out-maneuver. From Dan Fouts on Monday Night Football: "The
defense is being out-quicked by the offensive line.".
Overlawyer - To perform unnecessary legal work. The judge in the Coca Cola
sexual harassment suit commenting on the 5,000 hours of legal time put in on the case said
that they might have "overlawyered."
Ozonated - Meaning unclear - The Label on Fountainhead Mineral water indicates
that the water has been "aerated, ozonated and bottled" at their artesian
wells.
Partner - To join. From a recruiting advertisement for the Sisters of St. Joseph
of Carondelet: "We invite you to Partner with us for social change. We invite
you to Membership with us as a sister or consociate member. We are women doing
Theology."
Peopling - Operating (replacement for "manning"). From a public
radio pledge drive: "Our volunteers are peopling the phones."
Perf off - To tear at a perforation. From a Publishers Clearing Hourse mailing:
"please perf off here and return...."
Perennialize - To be successful as a perennial plant. From the Van Bourgondien
Bros. Fall Plant Catalog: The Turk's Cap Lily "flowers in June and perennializes
well. a sign in a MPLS. Dairy Queen: "Our hamburgers are condimented with
..."
Plated - To have been placed on a plate. The St. Paul Pioneer Press, in an
article on deserts shows a Danish desert "plated on Danish dinnerware."
Podium - To place first, second or third in an Olympic event.
Downhill skier Kirsten Clark quoted in Newsweek: "My goal was to
podium last year, not to win."
Polyunsaturate - To use polyunsaturated products. From an advertisement in Family
Circle magazine: "When the Grants go camping, they go right on polyunsaturating...with
a big assist from Mazola."
Prairie-fire - To spread rapidly. From a Newsweek article:
"The story began prairie-firing across the Net, talk radio and TV."
Privilege - To favor. From a Food and Wine article:
"We need to stop provileging ingredients that take so much from the soil."
Prophylact - To clean. Have you finished prophylacting the patient in 21
West yet?.
Pulitzerize - To award the Pulitzer Prize. From an article in
Newsweek, "Still some, including the newly pulitzerized memoirist
Frank McCourt, have said that Harrison should not have published her book
while her father was still living."
Quagmire - To become bogged down. Headline in the New York
Times: "Are we quagmiring ourselves again?"
Re-careering - To change jobs. The title of a brochure from Minnesota's
University of St. Thomas asks: "Re-careering?"
Recompete - To renegotiate. From "Government Technology" magazine: The
... Office of Telecommunications Management has recompeted a contract for cellular
telephones and cellular service.
Refrigoratorize - Put in a refrigerator. From the cover of the menu at Pasqual's
Salsaria Southwestern Deli: "Save! refrigoratorize!
Refugee - To flee from war or natural disaster. In the movie 'Gone with the Wind'
as soldier tells Scarlett that the Yankees are coming and that she better "refugee
south as soon as possible."
Regularize - Meaning unclear. From a college "English" department
proposal: "It will regularize into an emphasis a series of courses that
already exist."
Rehome - To adopt. The subtitle of a book on pet adoption: Rehoming a Dog.
Repurpose - To change from the original use. From an article in a
computer magazine: "Until now, Microsoft has concentrated its energies on
grabbing rights to old material for repurposing on CD-ROM."
Reskill - To retrain. Jeremy Rifkin on workers' lack of skill in high technology:
"We'll have to reskill everybody."
Riddle-methise - To behave like a villain on the "Batman" television
series. From an interview with Adam West: "Adam West made his reputation as TV's
"Batman," but, based on his manic giggliness during a telephone interview, it's
easier to picture him riddle-methising as one of that show's over-the-top
villains."
Rotiss - To use a rotissary broiler. From the TV show "The Price is Right:
"You'll also win this beatiful gas barbecue which has two shelves; one for barbecuing
and a special shelf for Rotissing.
Round - To make one's rounds (as a doctor). From a medical receptionist:
"The doctor isn't available right now; he's rounding at the hospital."
Sandalize - Meaning unclear. A local store is advertising "sandalized
footware.
Satisfaction - Satisfy. From the Elvis Presley song, A Little Less Conversation:
"All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me."
Scenarioize - To describe.
Scholarship - To give a scholarship to. From the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram:
"Ihle was Scholarshipped by the University of Florida."
Sewer - To dispose of something in a sewer drain. From the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: "Sewering of anti-freeze is
prohibited."
Signalize - To equip with a stoplight. "We're continuing to signalize
intersections in the second-ring suburbs."
Skierize - To equip with a ski rack. From a Hertz brochure: "Skierized
vehicles are available at some locations."
Slenderize - To include low calorie choices. A headline in the St. Paul Pioneer
Press for Friday, July 28, 1995 reads: "Slenderized menu is still big on
flavor."
Slingshot - To pass something rapidly. From an article in the Saint Paul Pioneer
Press: "We're struggling to organize the whole technology effort in the
city....Technology has slingshotted past policy and we need to get caught up.
Sloganeer - To make false claims about a product or service. From a newpaper
article: "With more than 60,000 products across 40 divisions, there's evidence it's
more than Sloganeering.
Snooze - To press the snooze button on an alarm clock. "Snooze that
thing for me. I need more sleep."
Snow emergency - To declare a snow emergency. A local Department of
Transportation Official: "We don't want to snow emergency people to
death."
Soars - To cause something to be uplifted. From an ad for the movie Jack:
"It lifts the heart and soars the spirit."
Solution - To solve. From a company memo: "Many problems can be solutioned
by enlisting the aid of our new computer department."
Sominex - To bore. From a review by Richard Roeper of Marcia
Clark's book on the O. J. Simpson case: "At least Clark doesn't Sominex
us with hundreds of pages of minutae about her life before the trial."
Sony - To use a video-recorder. From John Grisham's The Client
"Americans no longer experience vacations. They simply Sony them...."
Spanner - To use a wrench. From Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient:
"The sapper units slid in with ropes, carried cables over their shoulders, and spannered
the bolts,...."
Spreadsheet - To use a spreadsheet. "I use my computer mostly for spreadsheeting.
Stadiumize - To move to a stadium. A local newscaster on the lack of interest in
road racing: "Road racing needs to stadiumize itself"
Status - 1) To ask someone a question. "I statused with Bob yesterday
on those markets but the figures weren't in yet." 2) To check the status of.
"Frank, can you status this for me?"
Stretcher - To remove on a stretcher. From Sports Illustrated: "The Saluki
cheerleader fell from atop the human pyramid, then continued to perform her routine
as she was strechered off the court."
Suicide - To kill. From a book by R. Burton (1890): "There is
hardly a place in Italy ... where some Englishman has not suicided
himself."
Summons - To issue a summons for court. Sign at the entrance to the New York side
of the Holland Tunnel: "LINE CROSSERS WILL BE SUMMONSED."
Summit - To climb to the summit of. "Have you summited Denali
yet?"
Summiteer - To be near a summit. From mountaineer M. S. Kohli:
"When you're summiteering between base camp and the summit, you're
committed."
Sunset - To lapse or expire at a preset time. "Don't forget that this
commission sunsets at the end of the fiscal year."
Swissing - To prepare in the manner of Swiss steak. From a sticker on a meat
package: "Excellent for swissing."
Taft-Hartley - Action taken on the basis of the Taft-Hartley law.
Actress Jane Leeves: "I was originally Taft-Hartleyed into the Screen
Actors Guild." A shipping union official: "They've wanted to
Taft-Hartley the union for a long time."
Tasked with - Assigned the job of. From a Doonesbury comic strip: "For
years, my unit was tasked with blowing this place up." Also in the New
Yorker: "We were tasked with deterring attacks against the enclaves, not
defending them...."
Theatricalize - To make more theatrical or flamboyant. On National Public Radio,
Susan Stamberg said of Noel Coward that he had "theatricalized himself."
Thesaurusize - To look up using a thesaurus. "Let me call up the word I was
just thesaurusizing."
Toilet - To take someone to the lavatory. "The nurses have been so busy that
they haven't had time to toilet their patients."
Touch-tone - To press the buttons on a telephone. From a pager instruction
manual: "touch-tone your telephone number."
Transmittaled - Sent. From a corporate procedure manual: "Magnetic
media sent to the Records Center for retention purposes ... should be
tranmittaled in accordance with Section 3.3.1."
Transition - To change, move, disappear, or get fired. "Let's transition
this customer to the next release." "The out-state sales unit is transitioning
away from the company." "Many employees are transitioning out of the
company."
Transplant - To perform an organ translplant on. Dr. John Najarian said he
couldn't comment on the criminal charges pending against him because he had to check on
some patients he had just "transplanted that morning.
Trespass - To cite for trespassing. From the Sarasota Herald Tribune: "My guys would just call and tell them at 2 a.m. in the morning there were two people sleeping [on the sidewalk]. The police would come and trespass them".
Truthin' - Telling the truth. From Nanacy Sinatra's rendition of "These
Boots Are Made For Walkin'": "You keep on lyin' when you ought to be truthin'."
Up - To improve. From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: "Use what you love to up your holiday decorating."
Upkeep - To maintain in good repair. From the minutes of a school
board meeting: "The money raised will be used to upkeep the buildings."
Upright - To return something to an upright position. From Channel 9 News:
"the derailed train in St. Paul has now been uprighted."
Upscale - To sell someone a more expensive product or service than they intended
to buy. From a St. Paul Pioneer Press article on an employee at the Wave Car Wash:
"Johnny upscales everyone. They come in for the basic wash and he's got them
going for air-fresheners and wax."
Vendette - To get even. Football coach Dan Reeves in Sports
Illustrated: "I just hope we can do some vendetting."
Vital - To check someone's vital signs. From a nurse: "I'll be back
in after the other nurse vitals you."
Voucherize - To use public money to pay for private eduation. From
Newsweek Magazine: "Chicago is already voucherizing by giving
some high-school students public money for private vocational courses."
Watchdog - To keep an eye on. From the annual report of the Minnesota Center for
Environmental Advocacy: "MCEA will continue to watchdog this process that has
proved to be as complicated as it is controversial."
Waterize - Meaning unclear. From a Time Magazine article on Las Vegas:
"They've waterized the whole theater."
Weaponize - To make ready to use as a weapon. Strobe Talbot
speaking about India and Pakistan on "Meet the Press:" We hope that they will
not weaponize those rockets."
Widthen - To widen. From an article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
"vertical lines are laid over text to widthen your sharp sight area."
Wordsmith - To write. "We've tasked Ed with wordsmithing
the Pensky report."
Workshop - To try an acting or comedy bit at a rehearsal or class.
Kathy Griffin on the "Seinfeld" show: "I workshopped that line but nobody laughed."
Contributed by Mark Peterson
Yes - To agree to. From the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Jennifer Aniston, one
of TV's 'Friends,' has yessed a marriage proposal by Tate Donovan, late of TB's
'Partners,' according to the Star."
YouTube - To watch a specific video on YouTube. From a TV comment by golfer Curtis Strange: "If you don't believe us, go YouTube his Hall of Fame speech."
Zapruder - To analyze a film or digital video segment extremely
closely, perhaps even frame-by-frame, with the intent of gleaning a deeper understanding
than is immediately obvious by watching the segment in real time. From Mother Tongue Annoyances:
"Thanks to my trusty DVR, I was able to Zapruder last night's American Idol show
and analyze the nuances
of the scary McPhee family's reactions and facial expressions."
Submissions Welcome
Submit your verbs through the "contact" link at the top or bottom of this page. New verbs will be added at the discretion of me. Submissions may be edited for form, content, or just because I feel like it.
Thank you for visiting WordsMatter.softville.com
— Bob Ray
