Though Susan Daly has won the contest to guess my favorite verb name, that doesn’t mean that everybody has to pack up the phonebooks/baby name books. If you want to keep sending in your verb names, please do. I’ll round up the best and put ‘em up here soon.
UPDATE: Here’s the entire series of Verb Names posts, for anybody who wants to see the whole list. I’ve also added a new tag, Word Games, to all the entries. With luck I’ll have some more games to take a whack at in the future.
13 responses so far ↓
Frank Soos // December 18, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Meg
I am so very impressed with what you are doing and what you have become. Your photo is gorgeous, does Paul know how lucky he is? I confess to being extremely jealous, I too would love to write a book but where to start? One day when I stop chasing quotas I will give it a shot. Merry Xmas to you, Paul and the kids. Bravo…
Ken // December 19, 2006 at 9:37 am
I’ve just visited this site and would like to submit my own name, as in “Do you ken John Peel with his coat so grey?”
Susan // December 19, 2006 at 2:34 pm
More on DeForest
Actually, it’s a scary concept in Canada, and getting scarier. The Pine Beetle is a growing menace to huge huge huge swaths of forest, currently wiping the sawdust from its feet in BC, and setting its sights for Alberta.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2006/07/04/pine-beetle.html
Yup, what Big Paper don’t get, the Pine Beetle (and Douglas Fir Beetle and Long-horned Asian Beetle) will
Used to be, long cold winters would put a stop to them, but with Global Warming, long and cold aren’t in the lexicon any more.
It’s all connected.
Which is why DeForest is such an odd name choice. Kind of like calling your kid Clearcut.
Patti // December 19, 2006 at 4:28 pm
Meg, could you put in links to the other two entries containing lists of names? That way it would be easier to check for duplication. Yes, I’m being a compulsive–games are serious business! By my count, and I did make a list with duplicates removed just because I needed to know, we are at 239.
Meg // December 19, 2006 at 5:24 pm
239! I am impressed.
Meg's Webmaster // December 19, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Just wondering…..having sat back and watched the fun: how many of those “names” are actually verbs that were commandeered as names, as opposed to verbs used as names? I mean, Troop? Would you honestly name your child after a verb?
Patti // December 19, 2006 at 9:30 pm
“Commandeered” is an apt choice.
In my more reactionary moments, I’ve been known to advocate for the introduction of a “baby naming exam” that must be passed by all parents-to-be before their hormono-emotional imaginations are cut loose on the task of a) denominating their offspring and b) choosing spellings for those names. It might prevent some of the worst naming atrocities that have been perpetrated on unsuspecting infants (Troop among them–somehow I think it’s the noun rather than the verb at work). For example, nobody should be sent out in the world with “Bunny” as a first name. It’s just not fair. And Monty Python was joking about whatever it was being spelled with four “n”s and a silent “q.”
In the midst of this little diatribe, I was reminded of another verbal naming crime, this one committed recently by my cousin’s child, whose firstborn was given the middle name “Trust.” The impetus was some scary pre-natal complications that ultimately did turn out ok, but the kid now has a middle name he’ll never want to reveal, rather like poor old Inspector Morse (ooo, another verb–Endeavour).
susan // December 20, 2006 at 2:36 pm
I’m sure little Trust will survive. Everyone accepts that middle names are unavoidable family-inflicted nightmares, and he can always pretend it’s a family surname from way back.
But yeah, Patti, the Naming Exam would certainly help smooth the defenceless child’s future career path. Coupla considerations….
a: who determines the standards? Separate exams for every culture?
b: what sort of questions? General competency with understanding the dominant culture. Enough imagination to envisage their child, with its name, in the schoolyard.
c: what happens if they fail the test? Do they have to submit to a government-selected name, whatever is next on the list (like Oliver Twist)?
Ah, it’s never simple, is it?
megs_webmaster // December 21, 2006 at 11:15 am
Ahh Patti, the bookshop sketch……….
“why don’t you try WH Smiths?”
“I did, they sent me here”
“DID they”
Would love to hear one of Meg’s books mentioned in a rewrite. And it was Stickwick Stapers with 4 n’s and a silent q. But I digress. I’ve lost count of the number of times my wife has gasped out loud on reading this week’s baby names from the local paper. What really bugs me is contractions:
Alfred: yes
Alfie: no
Charles: yes
Charlie: no
By all means call your child by a familiar contraction for daily use, but please register the full name on their birth certificate! Aaaarrggg. I’m just waiting for the day that we see a chav couple name their child Wanker. (sorry)
A Sale of Two Titties anyone?
Patti // December 21, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Thanks, megs_webmaster. At the peak of my umbrage, just which sketch it was eluded me.
Have you ever noticed how amenable Dickens’ titles are to parody…or something? For example, Picnic Papers: Discovering the Disposable, Great Expectorations: The Etiquette of Spitting in Victorian London, the aforementioned A Sale of Two Titties: London Prostitution 1860-1880, Brick House: The Rise of the Council Estate, Charred Times: Nutrition and Cookery in Working Class London 1840-1870, David’s Copperfield: A History of Welsh Mining.
Is there another contest here, Meg?
Susan, I agree that there are many complications to my scheme, which is why I back off after blowing off steam at some of the handles inflicted on children.
My own parents did put “Patricia” on the birth certificate and fortunately changed the spelling of the diminutive from “Pattie” when someone pointed out its similarity to a mound of ground beef prior to its transformation into a hamburger. After a number of attempts in early adulthood to go with the full version (but feeling like I was constantly in trouble–”PaTRIcia!”
I decided to stick with the diminutive and keep the full version for when I’m supposed to try for dignity.
baby names // July 10, 2007 at 5:45 pm
baby names
baby names and meanings
Andrew Jarvis // October 19, 2007 at 7:20 pm
So what exactly is wrong with the contraction Charlie as a name? My wife and I decided long and hard about what to call our son. We decided on Charlie, not Charles. Having two names is hypocritical and I detest the number of people who say “We’ve called him Charles, known as Charlie” - why? One friend even said that our son Charlie would never get a good job as the name on his CV will not be Charles. I suppose we could be as fickle as those who contract names and extend it.
Songs and Names » Verb Names - don’t go away lying for a living // March 10, 2008 at 9:08 pm
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