Blog by Toby Welch

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The Trend of Verbifying Words

One trend I've noticed with writers in the new millennium is to verbify words. The practice involves taking a noun and making it into a verb. When Clint Eastwood mock-interviewed Barack Obama in 2012 and acted like the U.S. president was sitting in the empty chair beside him, “Eastwooding” was an often-used verb for months afterward when people referenced talking to an empty chair. “Xerox” is a brand name that is used as often as a verb as it is a noun. “Hoover
” is no longer just a vacuum company; many people use the word to describe the act of vacuuming. People have been “horsing” around for years. When Twitter became a popular website, “tweeting” quickly became a globally-known verb. People “Google” on Google. My best friend is always eager to “Facebook” her friends. It’s anyone’s guess what the next popular verbified noun will be. Personally I think "Tobleroning" should be a verb, meaning to indulge in chocolate!