Hoovering with a Dyson

[NoviceKnitter]

I wish I didn't get irritated when people say they're going to do the hoovering, rather than the vacuuming, even if they don't own a Hoover vacuum cleaner - in fact I wish I could bring myself to say hoovering, so I could be like everyone else, but I can't. Am I alone? (Fully expecting to be - even I think I'm a pedantic weirdo on this.) I think I would still say vacuuming even if I had a Hoover. I don't say I'm just going to do the Bosching, even though I have a Bosch washing machine. But maybe I should start.

[TheDevilWearsPrimark]

Blu tack is another.

No one ever says bluish sticky gummy stuff, or something like.

[MargeSimpsonMyAlterEgo]

.. and have a Sandwich?

[MargeSimpsonMyAlterEgo]

So do you wear Wellies/Wellingtons?

[Tallis]

...and on Blue Peter they also said "clear glue" and "white glue" when you could clearly see thumping great tubes of UHU and Copydex with their names blacked out?

[Emprexia]

Biro.. there's a brandname thats synonimous with particualr pens, wether they're biros or not.

[fatzak]

And is it because I am just an northern thug that I do the "vaccing" or "vaccing up" See, I can't even spell it it's such a made up word

[NoviceKnitter]

but is double-sided sticky tape the same as sellotape?

hectate - get laid... the phrase rings a bell but can't quite recall...

[MrsBadger]

d'you remember on Blue Peter they weren't allowed to say 'sellotape' because it was a brand name? 'Sticky tape' just doesn't have the same ring...

[flowerybeanbag]

I should hope not!

[NoviceKnitter]

Ah, Flowery, just to make clear, I would NEVER say vac-kew-um-ming. Phew - got soething right

[hecate]

sellotape.

It happens. Some brands just work their way in!

You pedants really really REALLY need to go and get laid.

[NoviceKnitter]

whoops, sorry for blasphemous hyphen there

[flowerybeanbag]

Rofl at 'correction-fluiding'!

[NoviceKnitter]

See, don't shout me out of town but i would only say photo-copying. Would draw the line at correction-fluiding though - tippexing it is. So I'm a hypocrite as well as a posh pedantic weirdo

[MrsBadger]

no-one in the UK says Xeroxing though
we photocopy

we are struggling with 'videoing' / 'taping' things on the digibox - I think we've settled on 'recording' stuff.

[flowerybeanbag]

Tell you what's more annoying than that anyway. My DH when using the word 'vacuuming', used to pronounce it 'vac-kew-um-ming, not 'vac-kew-ming'. I soon sorted that out!

[melpomene]

And Googling is also a verb, of course!

That has not become generic though. I don't think one could Google with any other search engine.

[melpomene]

Xeroxing and Tippexing are other verbs derived from brand names.

[melpomene]

'Hoover' is listed in Chambers dictionary as a verb meaning 'to clean with a vacuum cleaner'. It can be used with or without a capital H. So it's not incorrect to do the hoovering with a Dyson.

I still feel a bit strange when I catch myself saying it, though.

[verona]

My Dh and MIL drive me mad.
They call the hoover (or dyson to be precise) the cleaner. Don't vacuum or hoover they 'clean'.
I have to grit my teeth when they say it.
Both are obsessively house-proud and often have conversations about the 'cleaner'

[flowerybeanbag]

I say 'hoovering'. I think it's reasonable to say that 'hoover' is one of those brand names that has made it into general use as a verb, although like much of the English language, it does sound a bit daft when you think about it too much!

[Nbg]

Oh yeah Videoing.

So when your recording on DVD do people say DVDing?

[NoviceKnitter]

I suppose "videoing" which I still say even tho we have tv drive now.

that noone will share my vacuuming shame.

[Hassled]

Sorry, but I hoover with a Dyson on an almost daily basis.
I'm a fan of Pedant's Corner, but this is a pedantic step too far. There must be other cases of brand names becoming verbs, but I can't think of one.

[Nbg]

Dysonin sounds liek something Ali G would say.

"I is off to do me Dysonin, ayyyyyyy"


Could never say Vacuuming.

I am going to hoover, surely.