Verbing

[Gregory {Greg} Downing]

At 11:19 AM 7/2/99 Aaron Drews <aaron at ling.ed.ac.uk> wrote:
>On Wed, 30 Jun 1999, Gregory {Greg} Downing wrote:
>}Speaking of verbs on the move, I saw a quote yesterday about the UK royal
>}family's shrinking budget. A royal household official, Sir Micheal Peat, was
>}quoted as saying, "Costs continue to reduce." [...] Is this a common UK usage,
>}but not common in the US?
>
>    One does not hear it at all, even on the BBC news.  One suspects
>it was idiolectal... either of Sir Michael or of the speech-writer.
>        --Aaron
>

Uh oh, so this is more "unqueenly" English from the royal household's stable
of scribes! Off with their heads! Maybe this is what comes from the
cost-cutting measures the royals and the British govt have recently
introduced.... Perhaps they have 25-y.o.'s writing their material now --
like late-night comedy shows in the US!


Greg Downing/NYU, at greg.downing at nyu.edu or gd2 at is2.nyu.edu