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From: Chris Croughton <chris@keristor.net>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
Subject: Re: Help translation
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 23:11:54 +0000
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Message-ID: <slrnd2ci1q.9pt.chris@ccserver.keris.net>
References: <42163aa3$0$15815$636a15ce@news.free.fr> <180220051741314580%vornoffREMOVE@sonic.net> <Misc-882AA6.15014826022005@newssvr13-ext.news.prodigy.com>
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On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 23:01:48 GMT, Miss Elaine Eos
<Misc@*your-shoes*PlayNaked.com> wrote:
> In article <180220051741314580%vornoffREMOVE@sonic.net>,
> Douglas Sederberg <vornoffREMOVE@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> In article <42163aa3$0$15815$636a15ce@news.free.fr>, pat o'beur
>> <pat.o'beur@frogland.fr> wrote:
>> > Hello,
>> > I'm looking for a verb or the usual way for "to clean with a
>> > vacuum-cleaner".
>> > Thanks
>
>> "vacuum"
>> as in: "I vacuumed the living room yesterday."
>
> I agree with this. The person who suggested "I Hoovered the living
> room" sounds like they're "verbing" a brand name.
That was my statement, but it's not me who is doing the 'verbing', it's
a very common term in England (probably not in some other countries
where they speak some form of English, though, because brand names are
different).
> That'd be like saying
> "I had a cut on my finger, but I band-aid(tm)ed it"
That's also common in England, as is "I plastered it" (from the common
term "sticking plaster"). Well, except that people don't put the '(tm)'
in when they are saying it (I do, however, refer to "Real Life(tm)"
since I don't want to be infringing the trademark of the Big Guy).
Also common is "I xeroxed it" (photocopied, from the brand name Xerox),
and "I sellotaped it" (from Sellotape(tm), sticky clearish plastic in a
roll -- another form is "Scotch tape", and I believe the Australian
version is Durex).
> rather than "...but I bandaged it."
That's not the same thing, if I bandage something I put a bandage
(usually a fairly wide and long piece of cloth, generally unmedicated
and not sticky) around the wound and fasten it by typing or with a pin,
whereas a Band Aid(tm) is (in England at least) a small sticky piece of
cloth with medication in the middle. Another make of the same thing is
Elastoplast, but I haven't heard that being verbed yet...
> The former is "verbing" with a
> brand-name, the latter is more common usage.
Possibly in some parts of the world, but not in England. Many brand
names get verbed and used as generic, and some companies have lost their
trademarks because of it (last I heard Xerox were still fighting it, by
sending letters whenever they find it used in the media, but they can't
fight the ordinary people who use the term every day).
Chris C
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