Nouns into verbs … good enough for Shakespeare

Here’s a bit of trivia for you.

My partner was just taking the piss out of something she was reading, which ran: “When I chaired my first session, I tabled a resolution ….”

Then she burst out laughing and said, “And did they then wardrobe something and desk something else?”

I took her to task instantly, pointing out that we work in an industry where people don’t try anything, they “trial” it.

I don’t know why I find this habit of turning nouns into verbs irritating, because Shakespeare did it all the time.

I just got that off my chest because I’ve been writing all day long and my brain is frying.

My next piece will be about the Bliar’s £12 million and how he earned it …

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

4 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    I was completely mullahed when I read your blog and had to bollock my assistant for not making me eyeball it earlier ….

    Fuck*, I thought, this Bird johnnie could have a point.

    * One of the most interesting and colourful words in the English language which can describe pleasure, love and hate, can fall into many grammatical categories. It can be used as a verb; both transitive (John fucked Mary) and intransitive (Mary was fucked by John).

    It can be an action verb (John really gives a fuck), a passive verb (Mary really doesn’t give a fuck), an adverb (Mary is fucking interested in John), or as a noun (Mary is a terrific fuck).It can also be used an adjective (Mary is fucking beautiful) or an interjection (Fuck! I’m late for my date with Mary). It can even be used as a conjunction (Mary is an easy fuck, she’s also stupid). As you can see, there are very few words with the versatility of the word ‘fuck’.

    Aside from its sexual connotations, this incredible word can be used to describe many situations:

    1. Greetings “How the fuck are ya?”
    2. Fraud “I got fucked by the car dealer”
    3. Resignation “Oh, fuck it”
    4. Trouble “I guess I’m fucked now”
    5. Aggression “Fuck you”
    6. Disgust “Fuck me”
    7. Confusion “What the fuck?”
    8. Difficulty “I don’t understand this fucking business”
    9. Despair “Fucked again”
    10. Pleasure “I fucking couldn’t be happier”
    11. Displeasure “What the fuck is going on here?”
    12. Lost “Where the fuck are we?”
    13. Disbelief “Unfuckingbelievable”
    14. Retaliation “Up your fucking arse”
    15. Denial “I didn’t fucking do it”
    16. Perplexity “I know fuck all about it”
    17. Apathy “Who gives a fuck?”
    18. Greetings “How the fuck are you?”
    19. Panic “Let’s get the fuck out of here”
    20. Directions “Fuck off”
    21. Disbelief “How the fuck did you do that?”

    It can be used in business “How did I end up with this fucking job?”
    It can be maternal “Mother fucker”

    It has also been used by many notable people throughout history:

    “What the fuck was that?” Mayor of Hiroshima
    “Where did all these fucking Indians come from?” General Custer
    “That’s not a real fucking gun” John Lennon
    “Let the fucking woman drive” Commander of Space Shuttle
    “I need this parade like a fucking hole in the head” John F Kennedy

    Reply
  2. Drayton Bird

    Fucking hilarious

    Reply
  3. Conrad

    Mr Anonymous is a clever Fuck.

    Reply
  4. Steve Gibson

    He’s one smart fucker!

    Reply

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