Nouns into Intransitive Verbs-Hoover and Beaver

[Paul Johnston]

Then there's British English (IV or TV) "hoover"--to vacuum, to
vacuum something.

Paul Johnston
On Feb 1, 2009, at 8:04 AM, Carter Rila wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Carter Rila <elcutachero at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Nouns into Intransitive Verbs-Hoover and Beaver
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> I have found myself using these terms often in the last twenty
> years or so.=
>  The meanings should be obvious.
> I use "beavering away" more in the present tense to denote heads
> down conce=
> ntrating on one's immediate task to the exclusion of any other
> thing going.=
>  Characteristic of "cubicle rat" programmers.
> As to "hoover it up" or the past tense this specifically refers to
> the way =
> a dog eats. Bolt it down, "scarf it up", or "wolf it down" All mean
> the sam=
> e. Hasty eating hardly pausing to chew, let alone,=A0 enjoy one's
> sustenanc=
> e. Such people would probably prefer an IV.=20
> =A0
> Charles Franklin Carter
>
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