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Subject:tan:Verbing words (medal) From:LaVonna Funkhouser <lffunkhouser -at- HALNET -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 14 Feb 1994 14:10:15 -0600
As I watched (on TV) this weekend's events of the Winter
Olympics, I often heard _medal_ used as a verb. (For example,
"The US has five chances to medal in this event.")
1. I don't recall hearing this usage before this Winter
Olympics. Is this usage a result of the "verbing" trend,
or am I just paying more attention to the trend (and this
usage has been around for a while)?
2. Since "medal" and "meddle" really *are* homophones,
isn't this usage potentially confusing to listeners, or
would context more than make up for it?
Just curious. If you care to comment, you may reply to
me.
