Pedants' Paradise

[mangerton]

I do baulk at "to leverage" tho'

You and me both. I just checked, though, and it's in my "Chambers", in its financial sense as a vt and a vi. I am appalled. Anybody want to buy a dictionary?

Two further notes:

1. I bet it's not in my trusty COD. I'll check tomorrow when I'm back at work.
2. If the word "leverage" must be used, I wish they'd pronounce it correctly, ie with a long "e".

[french frank]

the ability of the English language to turn substantives into verbs ( and vice versa, and many another flexibility... )

E.g. down a pint, up the price, out him, Uncle me no uncle, But me no buts, No ifs and buts &c.

[gurnemanz]

"to panic" and "to progress" are only two examples of the American habit of using nouns as verbs. That too has become widespread in Britain.

That's not an American habit. We've been doing it for centuries.

Jean is right on both counts. It has always happened and always will. You only notice the new ones which often do seem ugly, clumsy or unnecessary. It is quite natural for a noun which names the object to be same as the verb that describes actions associated with that object. What do you do with paint? What does rain do?.

It was easy to find a more few examples:
peel an apple, bottle the wine, market a product, powder one’s nose, saddle a horse, thread a needle, picture yourself in a boat on a river, slice the bread, pilot a plane, lock the door, comb your hair, to skate, to brake, voice an opinion, plough a field, pump your tyre up, clown around, to question a suspect, to stage a play, to anger someone, to humour someone, to condition, to proposition, to people, to hog the limelight, process data, bank the cash, hole a putt, to humour someone, to father a child, time your arrival, date a woman, lecture someone, to piece together, to film a book, chair a meeting, table a motion, to book a film etc etc

[Pabmusic]

You and me both. I just checked, though, and it's in my "Chambers", in its financial sense as a vt and a vi. I am appalled. Anybody want to buy a dictionary?...

You dictionaried the word, then?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You dictionaried the word, then?

[vinteuil]

ah, Alpie is emoticonning again

[mangerton]

ah, Alpie is emoticonning again

I'll join him. "Dictionaried" forsooth!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Returning to the good/well discussion, I was aghast this morning on Breakfast TV, when the presenter, Susanna Reid was asked:
"How are you doing?"
She replied, "I'm doing good, thank you."
I expect verbal garbage like this from Steph McGovern, but Susanna Reid....?

[french frank]

Susanna Reid was asked:
"How are you doing?"
She replied, "I'm doing good, thank you."

I would understand "How are you doing?" to mean "How are things going with you (generally)?" rather than the more personal "How are you?"

[And of course "I'm doing good" would not be for me to say, but for others ]

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

[And of course "I'm doing good" would not be for me to say, but for others ]

Precisely.

[Don Petter]

Like the two psychologists: 'You're all right. How am I?'

[Pabmusic]

Here's a new word - to glom onto each other. Try the third paragraph of this interesting article:

http://www.livescience.com/10288-kind-light-created-physics-breakthrough.html

[Flay]

The Today Programme has just announced that the West Coast franchise competition is going to be "re-run again."

[french frank]

Here's a new word - to glom onto each other. Try the third paragraph of this interesting article:

http://www.livescience.com/10288-kin...akthrough.html

An abbreviation of 'glomerate'?

I was going to suggest that it was a technical term which might well - in a normal way of things - pass into everyday speech, but it could be that the reverse is true.

[Pabmusic]

An abbreviation of 'glomerate'?

I was going to suggest that it was a technical term which might well - in a normal way of things - pass into everyday speech, but it could be that the reverse is true.

I really don't know, but I think I rather like the word.