Pearl-McPhee originated the word "kinnear" on August 2, 2007, on her blog. Now cited in the Urban Dictionary and in The New York Times' 2007 Word in Review, it is defined as "kinnear v. To take a candid photograph surreptitiously, especially by holding the camera low and out of the line of sight." Kinnearing was originated when she attempted to take a picture of Greg Kinnear at an airport while on her way to Boston, MA. When Kinnear learned of this, he started to try kinnearing others, including his "Flash of Genius" costar, Alan Alda. He showed his attempts on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", where, in the same interview, he declared that Pearl-McPhee is "the Michael Jordan of knitting."