Nouns gone bad …

Several years ago, an article in an airline magazine, “Nouns Gone Bad,” really hit home with us.

It discussed the phenomenon of using nouns as verbs, and the growing prevalence of this practice.

A recent tweet (on Twitter) reminded us of this ever-growing trend …

“There is a poor grammar jesus bumper sticker collection on a van. I want to at least ‘Sharpie‘ it so it makes sense.”

You may know that a Sharpie® is a marker made by Sanford. Many professional athletes (and other celebs) use these markers for signing autographs. The pens have many other uses, and we confess to having what must be one of the largest collections of Sharpie® pens around (all colors, widths, point-types, and styles – literally, in buckets in the office). But we digress …

There is an interesting paper called “THE ENVIRONMENTAL STYLE” that was written in 2005 by R.P. Detwiler, NASA Office of General Counsel, in which this trend is addressed. Detwiler uses the examples: partner, team, dialogue, and task.

Have you heard (or used) these nouns as verbs? Maybe, in instances like (yes, we mean “like,” not “such as,” here):

• Let’s partner on this venture.
• How about we team up to find the solution?
• We can dialogue about that topic.
• My boss likes to task us with many jobs.

There are many other examples. There are even uses that are not primarily business-related:

• Do you know anyone who likes to go antiquing?
• The cops Tasered a stuffed animal the other day. (see the story)
• That recent study really impacted our lives.
• Did he transition from runner to cyclist?
• Will picnicked during the soccer game.

These days, use of the Internet provides us with the opportunity to perpetuate this bent:

• Ooh, let’s Google that …

So, now we add “Sharpie” to our list of nouns gone bad.

What are your offenders?

Be sure to see our related posts:

• Nouns gone bad … sequeled 
• Nouns gone bad … Properly
• Badverbs … cousins to nouns gone bad
• Verbalized …
• SPAM: honorary noun gone bad …
• Yummy noun gone bad …

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Shop talk …

Here’s an interesting People Magazine news headline:

“Kendra Wilkinson Goes Baby Shopping”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

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Community service?

We saw an interesting headline today on People.com:

“Can Chris Brown Make a Rebound?”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

What does rebound mean to you? Here’s our word of the day …

rebound. verb (used without object)

• to bound or spring back from force of impact.
• to recover, as from ill health or discouragement.
• Basketball. to gain hold of rebounds: a forward who rebounds well off the offensive board. 

rebound. verb (used with object)

• to cause to bound back; cast back.
• Basketball. to gain hold of (a rebound): The guard rebounded the ball in backcourt. 

rebound. noun

• the act of rebounding; recoil.
• Basketball.  a.  a ball that bounces off the backboard or the rim of the basket. b. an instance of gaining hold of such a ball.
• Ice Hockey. a puck that bounces off the gear or person of a goalkeeper attempting to make a save.

rebound. Idiom

• on the rebound, a. after bouncing off the ground, a wall, etc.: He hit the ball on the rebound.  b. after being rejected by another: She didn’t really love him; she married him on the rebound. 

Source: dictionary.com

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Teacher’s pet?

Here’s another People Magazine news headline …

“Lou Ferrigno Training Michael Jackson for Tour”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

So, here’s another word of the day for you to ponder …

hulk. noun

• the body of an old or dismantled ship.
• a ship specially built to serve as a storehouse, prison, etc., and not for sea service.
• a clumsy-looking or unwieldy ship or boat.
• a bulky or unwieldy person, object, or mass. as in: The Incredible Hulk.
• the shell of a wrecked, burned-out, or abandoned vehicle, building, or the like.

hulk. verb (used without object)

• to loom in bulky form; appear as a large, massive bulk (often fol. by up): The bus hulked up suddenly over the crest of the hill.
• British Dialect. to lounge, slouch, or move in a heavy, loutish manner.

Source: dictionary.com

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Fortune hunter …

Here’s a news headline from today’s People Magazine online:

“Levi Johnston Hunts Stardom in Los Angeles”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

And, this leads us to a versatile word of the day …

hunt. verb (used with object)

• to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
• to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often fol. by down): They hunted him down and hanged him.
• to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often fol. by up or out): to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.
• to search (a place) thoroughly.
• to scour (an area) in pursuit of game.
• to use or direct (a horse, hound, etc.) in chasing game.
• Change Ringing. to alter the place of (a bell) in a hunt.

hunt. verb (used without object)

• to engage in the pursuit, capture, or killing of wild animals for food or in sport.
• to make a search or quest (often fol. by for or after).
• Change Ringing. to alter the place of a bell in its set according to certain rules.

hunt. noun

• an act or practice of hunting game or other wild animals.
• a search; a seeking or endeavor to find.
• a pursuit.
• a group of persons associated for the purpose of hunting; an association of hunters.
• an area hunted over.
• Change Ringing. a regularly varying order of permutations in the ringing of a group of from five to twelve bells.

Source: dictionary.com

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Salacious state?

Who knew? Here’s a magazine headline we saw today:

“The Sexy Side Of Colorado”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

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Chop Rock?

More fun with headlines … this time from a magazine headline:

“All About Axe Man” (and Death Cheese)

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

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Can you can can?

We had a chuckle when we saw this headline from a movie magazine:

“Terminator Salvation Review”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

Maybe Arnold is on tour with Neil Diamond’s Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show? California to Broadway … it would give a whole new meaning to Dancing With The Stars! Now, we’d pay good money to see that revue!

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That’s gotta hurt …

We cringed when we saw this (painful sounding) magazine headline:

“Steps for Self Branding”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

OUCH! Why steps?

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Under the moon …

People.com is running a poll today:

“POLL: What Do You Think of the New Moon Trailer”

(click here for the real story)

What comes to your mind?

Here’s what came to ours:

So, we thought we’d run our own poll …

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