Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Sharpied

Kellyanne Conway, as heard on CNN a little while ago, talking about Donald Trump’s preparation for his State of the Union address: “He Sharpied up a lot of the passages.”

If Sharpie is now a verb, I suppose it must be capitalized, à la Shepardize. And yes, Conway said Sharpied, not sharpened. Trump’s affinity for the Sharpie is well established. Speak loudly and carry a big pen.

*

February 7: Just discovered that Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage has shepardize: “today, the word is increasingly written without the initial, as the trademark threatens to lose its uniqueness and become generic.”

[Odder than Sharpied : hearing Conway speak of comity, which has been announced as a theme of the address. Is Trump going to attack SNL?]

comments: 2

Elaine said...

But that, at least, IS a word....

Michael Leddy said...

I wonder if shepardize (Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage lowercases it) first met with the general objection to -ize that arose in the mid-twentieth century.

I hope Sharpie does not catch on as a verb. The fumes! (I hate the Sharpie smell.)