9 Comments

I love these. Even we rhetorical amateurs can punch up our writing via verbing. I had always called it verbification before, but "verbing" autologizes better. I might need some more practice...

Expand full comment
author

It does take practice, but verbing is one of the easier rulebreak figures. You're already killing it with "autologizes"! Presumably from the medical term "autologous," transferring something from the same body; e.g., an autologous--same-person--bone marrow transplant. Am I right?

Expand full comment

Indirectly: autology is the study of oneself. A word that reflects its own meaning (e.g., noun is a noun) is autological. By that meaning, verbing would also be autological. I sought to verb that (did I verb verb correctly there?). While I'm sure the root meaning is the same as the medical usage, I may have picked a word with a poor connotation match for my wordplay. This is fun.

Expand full comment
author

Yes, you anthimerianized perfectly!

Expand full comment

Would “Doberman smile” and “firecracker fart” be instances of verb

ing or of adverbing?

Expand full comment
author

Both are anthimerias. Calling all anthimerias “verbing” enacts a metonymy. Nerdy enough for you?

Expand full comment

He/she who dies using the most words to look up wins. Vox Alcis in Deserto.

Expand full comment

Rhetorical photoshopping. A new Olympic sport.

Expand full comment
author

AI, actually. Which is unsporting.

Expand full comment