All right, I'll give them "gift"
Nov. 28th, 2007 02:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teleribI get cranky when I see words randomly repurposed for new parts of speech, especially when there is no driving need to do so. (Yes, sometimes turning a noun into a verb is an elegant solution to a language problem. I'm talking about nonsense like "the smooth" here.) So my first impulse upon seeing an ad to "Gift a McDonald's ArchCard today" was to growl ominously.
But it occurs to me that I have heard "gift" used as a verb. Indeed, Miriam Webster Online informs me it dates to 1550 or so. "Mr. Peabody gifted us with tickets to the theatre" is a perfectly acceptable sentence.
But I still want to ask: what's wrong with the perfectly lovely verb "give"? You know, "Give them a present they'll love." "What all the smart people are giving this holiday season."
It's like the dreaded "utilize." There are occasions when "utilize" is actually the best word to get a meaning across. But I'd say at least 9 times out of 10, you'd be better off with the shorter, spunkier "use" instead. But people - at least people engaged in business and technical writing - seem to think that dropping a three-syllable word makes them sound smarter. So they do it. A lot. Until your eyes bleed from getting caught up on all the z's.
Using "gift" as a verb in your ad copy just sounds like you're trying too hard to be Starbucks when you're McDonalds.
But it occurs to me that I have heard "gift" used as a verb. Indeed, Miriam Webster Online informs me it dates to 1550 or so. "Mr. Peabody gifted us with tickets to the theatre" is a perfectly acceptable sentence.
But I still want to ask: what's wrong with the perfectly lovely verb "give"? You know, "Give them a present they'll love." "What all the smart people are giving this holiday season."
It's like the dreaded "utilize." There are occasions when "utilize" is actually the best word to get a meaning across. But I'd say at least 9 times out of 10, you'd be better off with the shorter, spunkier "use" instead. But people - at least people engaged in business and technical writing - seem to think that dropping a three-syllable word makes them sound smarter. So they do it. A lot. Until your eyes bleed from getting caught up on all the z's.
Using "gift" as a verb in your ad copy just sounds like you're trying too hard to be Starbucks when you're McDonalds.
