Save our Great British nouns

The lazy and presumptuous use of nouns as verbs has been going on for a long time. That’s not new. ‘Gift’ is now in comfortable use as a verb, sadly, despite the perfectly decent ‘give’ still offering itself for the job. I honestly can’t think of a more hideous turn of phrase than ‘he gifted me the opportunity’. Oh, hang on, I can. ‘The weather has impacted the economy’. And oh, of course, ‘to action’, ‘to favourite’, and ‘to inbox’. Use any of those near me, I’m afraid, and it’s curtains for our friendship.

But, horrifically, it’s going the other way now, too. We’re seeing verbs shoved into the role of nouns, and therefore cheating nice existing nouns out of a job. I’m going to strike out and say that it’s early enough days with this that we have a fighting chance of stopping it. Don’t accept an ‘invite’ from someone, demand an ‘invitation’. Do not tolerate colleagues talking about an ‘install’ instead of an ‘installation’. And explain why, starting with the fact that it sounds stupid. I mean, whatever next, ‘a greeting’ becomes ‘a greet’? This is the year to save our lovely Great British nouns.

Comments

[RichardB]

The guiltiest party - at least for MC folk - is surely the Great British Bake Off and its "signature bakes".